In Which There Are Strangers
by Napoleon Clocks
Summary: You can't miss something you don't remember. Alternate ending to the anime. Read and Review. Currently, there're no pairings. No specific genre.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so Shortest Straw isn't officially on hiatus, but I've decided to take a little break from it and write something else. First, I should probably get a few things straight.

**This is a very strange thing. **

**Ed went over the Gate, but didn't go to Germany. **

**He came to America in the modern day, in New Jersey. **

**He doesn't have automail. **

**Something happened with his aging process, and suddenly he's thirteen again. **(don't ask how I came up with this)

**He's trying to figure out how to get back. **

**He can still do alchemy. **

**I hope you like this. **

Summary:_ You can't miss what you don't remember. _

I don't own FMA, but I own this plot and most of the characters. Ed, I do not, and several Alter people will be introduced most likely. Have fun reading.

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Chapter One

The moment Ed woke up, he knew something was wrong. There was no wind when he'd been transmuting Al. Also, he highly doubted he'd end up on something soft. Because whatever he was lying on didn't feel like cold stone floor in the slightest. It felt like a bed. Not a particularly comfortable bed, but a bed nonetheless. It was then that he realized he wasn't breathing. Quickly, he took a deep breath, trying to get in as much air as possible, but ended up wheezing instead. He coughed. Why it hurt so badly? Now that he was fully aware, he realized that his entire body felt bad, like he'd just been tortured or something. He struggled to open his eyes. Why couldn't he? This was absolutely infuriating. He tried again. It didn't work. Instead he tried to say something, but the words caught in his throat. That also didn't work. What the fuck? He tried to move his arm, his right arm, and the fingers twitched. Wait—was his automail gone?

A smile split across his face. (Well, at least that moved) He tried to sit up. He had to tell Al, had to see that he was back, had to—

The transmutation. Did that work? He struggled to get up, but his body wouldn't cooperate. What if Al was gone again? What if he turned out looking like Mom? Ribs open, eyes bulging, looking but not seeing, a heartbeat that could be seen? The image, the thought, and the memory of Mom merged into one and he felt his heart stop. Next thing he knew, he was sitting straight up, hand clutching to chest as it heaved up and down, the finished scream dying on his lips. Someone ran in next to him and he jumped, almost tumbling out of bed. The woman was dressed in a white doctor's uniform, meaning that this was a hospital, but she didn't look like anyone he knew. So this wasn't Central or East City. Some random town?

"Y-you're awake!" the woman said, sounding about as shocked as he felt. A cough tore from his mouth before he could answer, causing his entire frame to shake. The woman next to him looked like she was about to have a panic attack. "Easy, kid, easy." He wasn't a kid…

He looked up to her, eyes tired. It felt like he'd been asleep for weeks, years maybe. What had the Gate…done…to…

Crap. For a moment, he'd forgotten what he'd used as Equivalent Exchange. To get his brother back, he'd ask to be brought over to the other side. And if that worked, that meant that he wasn't in Amestris anymore; he was a different world. The thought hit him hard, like a slap to his face, like a knife to his heart, but he told himself to just go with it now. He was in a strange world which he knew nothing about.

"W-where am I?" he asked, voice weaker than he would have liked. It felt like someone had stuffed a cloth down his throat and his ears were ringing. His head hurt and willed himself not to look down. If it was a hospital, he knew the amount needles in his arms must he frightening. And Ed hated needles.

"Valley Hospital, in New Jersey," she answered and hit a button next to his bed. Probably to call for a doctor. "How long have you been up?"

"Five second before you—" He broke off into another coughing fit. "Before you came in," he finished.

He looked up as footsteps entered the room and saw another doctor in the doorway, staring at him with shock. "You're awake!" he said. Ed sighed; this was getting old.

"What happened?" He went to rub his eyes, but the girl doctor put her arm across them to stop the movement. He looked at her, confused.

"Jesus Christ, kid, you're a medical miracle," the guy said without answering his question. "You've been in a coma for a month. It was surprising enough that you were alive, but to have woken up…You've flat lined a few times." Ed's eyes widened. A _coma_? People didn't suddenly wake up from one of those. What did the Gate do to him? "Jane, talk to him. I have to call Detective Ryan. He and his partner are going to have a field day over this." He left, still mumbling to himself. Detective? What did they need a detective for? Why didn't he remember what happened after the Gate threw him out? Questions, there were way too many questions.

"What's your name?" Jane asked gently.

"Edward Elric, the—" He cut himself off. Adding 'The Fullmetal Alchemist" probably wouldn't go over too well. "C-call me Ed." She nodded.

"How about your age?"

Sixteen should've been the answer, but something told him it wasn't. It was like the Gate had put information into his head, but was only revealing it a little at a time, like a road in the dark when all you had was a lantern to show the way. Irrationally, he felt anger, thinking 'why me?', but reminded himself that if Al was okay, it was all worth it. But if Al wasn't okay…he cut the thought off before it could form.

"Thirteen," he answered and pulled his knees to his chest. Jane didn't stop the move this time.

"When's your birthday?"

"February third."

"What are your parents' names?" He went to go and answer, but stopped himself. They wouldn't exist in this world. According to his dad when he ended up in England, everyone had a counterpart, but that didn't mean they would know him.

"I don't remember," he lied, knowing it was better than saying anything else. Jane nodded.

"Do you remember what happened when you were in the woods?" she asked. The woods? Why would he be in the woods of all places? Oh hell, he should roll with it.

He shook his head.

"Where you're from?"

Another shake of the head.

"I called Detective Ryan. He's on his way." the doctor said as he entered the room, walking over to Ed's bedside. "I'm Dr. Anderson, and this is Dr. DeFreeze, a nurse here at the hospital. Can you tell me your name?"

"I already asked that," she answered for him. "His name is Edward Elric, he's thirteen, and he can't remember who his parents are or what happened in the woods." Ed just looked down at his knees. Hospitals smelled like disinfectant. He hated hospitals.

"Why do you need a detective?" Ed asked, making sure his bangs were covering his face. As much as he'd tried not to, he'd started to cry. And sure, his voice had cracked, but it'd been doing that the entire time. He hoped they wouldn't notice.

There was a pause, then Dr. Anderson finally said, "We'll let him explain it to you. Along with everything else." There was _more_? "For now, though, we have to do a checkup. It's not every day someone wakes up from a coma and acts like he's in perfect shape physically." Ed felt a stab of annoyance at the 'physically'.

It took half an hour for them to check everything and proclaim him fine (physically). But now he could tell what they meant when they said it was surprising he was alive; there was a scar where Envy had stabbed him through the chest and it was an angry red, like it hadn't fully healed yet. He had wounds like everywhere, all from the day he'd disappeared. Besides that, it was just the normal, everyday scars he always had. He glanced at his right arm and almost smiled. The scar he'd gotten from the fox was there again. And, strangely enough, there were the scars he'd gotten from his automail surgery, too. His left leg looked the same way, and his knees still had the bumpy look that most people's knees got from falling down as a kid and scraping them. It was odd, seeing that on his left leg.

The two doctors left as two new people walked in, going to submit a test for something they hadn't explained to him. They said it would take weeks.

"Hi, Ed, I'm Detective Ryan and this is my partner Detective Markov," a man with a pair of jeans, a normal tee-shirt and a gun said as he motioned to a girl next to him. She was dressed in a similar manner. They didn't look like detectives. When he though detectives, he thought Intelligence, which meant he thought Hughes, and they didn't look for them. Ed never thought in his life that he would miss the Amestris blue and gold.

"Hey," she greeted. "We have a few questions for you, but don't worry, you aren't in trouble." She pulled up a chair and turned around, sitting on it backwards. He pulled his knees to his chest again and coughed, trying to figure out what to answer and what not to.

"Okay," he said quietly. He found that talking any louder hurt his throat. Dr. Anderson told him that it was to be expected, seeing that he hadn't spoken in a month, but it would go away quickly. Ed was incredibly thankful for this.

Detective Ryan pulled up a chair. "You have to understand here the kind of situation we're in." Ed nodded. "Since we didn't know who you were and therefore didn't know the name of your parents, we took a DNA sample and the forensics lab ran it through their computer. You didn't come up. Before we came here, Dr. Anderson told us your name and age. We ran that through the computer too."

"What?" Computers? What were those?

"It's like you came out of nowhere, Ed," Markov answered. "We ran the name Elric through the system. We got no one. We've had your picture all over the internet, on the back on milk cartons in schools…if I didn't know any better, I would say you didn't exist. No one knows someone of your description. And we haven't seen anyone with your eye color either."

"Oh?" This was making his head hurt. Of course they wouldn't find him; he'd only been for as long as he'd been in the coma. And what was the internet? Ugh, this was irritating. He was the kind of person who hated it when not knowing thing. "I really don't remember who they are. I don't know how I got into this coma either."

Ryan sighed. "There's a serial killer around this area. Not directly, more near Southern Jersey, near the Pine Barons, but we've been wondering when he'd come up here for a while now. No one's survived from him yet. A group of friends were hiking up in the woods when they saw you a little off the trail. Luckily they were high up enough to get cell phone reception or you probably wouldn't be here. You'd been knocked out cold and it looked like someone had attacked you. From the way you were cut, it follows the man's pattern. The only problem with this is that he normally goes after women and generally they're twenty-five and older. He's never gone after someone as young as you before, and definitely not a boy. So you've got to tell us: Do you remember anything?"

Cuts up women? Sounded like Barry the Chopper. If everyone had a counterpart, it was a possibility. He shook his head; even if it was, he didn't know enough about this world and he didn't want to get involved.

"Nothing?" Markov asked.

"Nothing," he answered. "I don't remember much of anything until about an hour ago. I don't even remember my parents."

Markov groaned as Ryan said, "Just try to think up something. It doesn't just have to be your parents. You remember how to speak and remember your name and age. That's a good start." Ed sighed; screw it, he was lying, even if it gave them a false lead. These two would probably drill him until they got some kind of answer.

"I think someone asked me to get something from the butcher's," he answered, staring straight at the wall ahead of him so he didn't have to look at their faces. "But after that I don't remember anything. Besides that, I remember hating milk, loving stew, and studying science as often as I could."

"Where was the butcher's shop? And do you remember where you went to school?"

Ed shook his head. "I don't know. I'm sorry, but I really don't."

"Do you remember anything else about yourself? We need to find your parents."

"I-I think they're dead," he said. "I think. I don't remember how. Or they might be alive, but I don't think so. I really don't remember. I can't even tell what they look like."

"Fuck," Ryan said. "Then who was taking care of you? Where were you from? Who asked you to go to the store? Are you from around here?"

"I really don't know," he answered. "Really, I don't. It could be England or here in New Jersey or somewhere else."

"Adam, stop. You're scaring him." Markov looked worried. He _hoped _he got the country name England right, because that's what his dad said that place he ended up before was called. Maybe. Well, they weren't having a reaction to the name, so even if it was wrong, it couldn't be too bad. "His heart rate's gone up."

"Sorry, Ed. Calm down. You've been really helpful. We'll run your information through again and see if anything comes up. If it doesn't, we'll find out what to do about where you'll live, okay? For now, we're going to call the doctor back in." Ed nodded. "Sadie, stay here. I'm going to go find Anderson and tell him some of what we learned."

"Okay," she answered as he left. She turned back to him. "So, kid, remember anything else you like to do?" Now he felt like was getting talked down to. He hated been treated like a kid, let alone being _called _one.

"I liked to play cards," he said. "And cats, and studying, but I don't remember ever paying attention in class when I was little." Yeah, because he hadn't been to school since he was eleven. He hesitated. He couldn't say alchemy. "And everything else I just did." He looked away again. There was silence in the room.

"I'm really sorry." Her voice was soft. He wasn't expecting that. Even so, he didn't look back at her. She reminded him a bit too much of Maria Ross, his body guard who ended up saving him from Laboratory 5, even if she looked nothing like her.

"It's not your fault," he answered. "And you can't miss what you can't remember, right? I'm okay." The logic there was true enough, but not always. Lust missed what she couldn't remember. She wanted to be human. Vaguely, he wondered if she was okay. She turned out to be different than the others, betrayed them and helped him and his brother instead.

And he did remember, so there were things to miss, such as the way his brother's voice sounded, or the way Hawkeye's hand was always ready to touch the gun, how Breda was afraid of dogs, how Falman was too professional, Roy's smirk that always infuriated him so much and the way he looked when he smiled, the way Fuery acted like such a coward, how Havoc smoked like a chimney. He remembered how awkward Denny Bosch acted and how Ross hugged him to snap him out of. He missed Sig's scary face, Teacher's somewhat evil but still caring personality, Rose's smile, Pinako's attitude towards life, the way Winry looked when she was smiling and the way the sun touched her hair. He missed Mom. But he'd given it all up, all for Al, so it was okay. He could miss them and he'd look for a way back. But at least Al would be all right and that was what mattered in the end.

"I hope this turns out all right," she said. "And I don't know whether or not we'll be talking to you again, but here's my card if you remember something. Don't bother with the work line; my cell phone number is underneath. Ring that instead, okay?" He nodded, and accepted the card, even though he wasn't sure what a cell phone was. The doctor entered again.

"See you later," he said. She ruffled his hair the way he used to mess up Al's. Normally he would've minded, but right now he was too tired to care.

"Bye, kid."

"Thanks, Ed."

And they left.

* * *

"So what'd think?" Adam said as the entered the car to drive back to Sadie's house. They would call Kingsley from there and give him the report. He wouldn't mind if it wasn't face to face.

"The kid's was a fucking saint," she answered, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket and lighting it. She rolled down the window. They pulled out onto the highway. "He might not've been able to tell us much, but that butcher lead's going to help us. And for someone who woke that quickly from a month long coma was pretty lucky to be able to function that normally."

"I wanna keep tabs on him, whether he remembers something or not. I have a feeling this killer won't go after him again, but even so…"

"Better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah." Sadie leaned down a fiddled with the radio. She stopped on 104.3. She always was a sucker for classic rock. 'Eleanor Rigby' was playing. She didn't know all the words, so she just hummed along.

"So you think he'll be all right?" she asked, reclining back against the seat, taking another drag from the cigarette.

"I hope so. But damn, why aren't there any records of him? How can _no one _know who he is, his DNA not come up, finger prints not match, name not match with anyone's, and have an eye color that shouldn't exist that still doesn't point us in the right direction?" He beeped his horn as some guy in a red Ford Torus cut him off. "Bastard."

Sadie sighed. "I know we have to try, but I really don't think we'll find something. We better start thinking about living arrangements for him."

"Think we should put him into foster care or an orphanage?" he asked. "It's only choice we have."

"I don't think that'll work," she answered, shaking her head and taking another drag. "I don't think he'll work well with a lot of people, especially kids his own age who'll get nosy and never shut up. He didn't look at us once. I know he just woke up and his memory's shot, but I was getting the feeling he wasn't too social."

"You figured all that out in forty-five minutes?" Sadie nodded. She'd taken a profiling course back in college, when she was planning on majoring in psychology instead of crime. Passed with top marks. "Okay, so if you don't think that'll work, what do you think we should do? He'll still have to be sent to school. You know that, right?"

Once again, Sadie nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I don't think he should be with more than one or two people outside of it, so he has a break. I don't want to see him have a panic attack or something. He's only thirteen and he's already going through this. Oh goddamn, how the hell did he manage to survive that? Stabbed through the chest. It should've blown his heart, but it came out completely unaffected."

"Yeah, I know. Ridiculous, right?" He slammed on the brakes when they reached a traffic light. That turned red faster than necessary. "I still feel bad for group who found him. Anyway, so do you have a specific family in mind?"

"No, not yet. If we can't find anyone, I was thinking of asking if I could take him."

"Are you serious?" The light turned green. Some David Bowe song came on. She didn't know the name.

"Why not? Think I can't do it? Besides, my house is pretty huge for just one and a half people to live in."

"I'm the half, aren't I?"

" 'Course. You don't officially live with me, but you might as well." She flicked the finished cigarette bud out a window. The sign above said 'Montclair 2 miles'. Good, they were almost home. "But what do you think? Sure, I'll have to play Mom and you'll have to play the retarded uncle, but I think I could manage."

"You aren't too good with kids and who said I was retarded?"

"Me obviously, and I think I could deal with him. He doesn't seem evil like most teenage boys."

"You don't know that for sure."

"It's a pretty good guess."

"You're way too good at those. I want pizza, so order."

"What kind? And I don't know, I feel bad for him. I don't want him to be alone, so I'm willing. A lot of our work is at home and on late days, I'm sure Kingsley wouldn't mind me bringing him in."

"Pineapple, and I suppose you're right. No one in the office would object." He turned onto the exit. "Now the only question is if you'll be allowed to."

She dialed the number on her cell and held up her hand to tell him to be quiet while she ordered.

"Hi, Rob," she said to the guy on the other end of the phone. They ordered from that place so often that she knew everyone by name. "It's Sadie."

"_Oh, hey, what's up? How's the investigation going?"_

"Well, and the rest is classified. We'll take the pineapple today."

_"Okay, it'll be really in twenty minutes. See you in a bit." _

They hung up. "Rob said twenty minutes and I'll see about it. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should just ask to first. We don't want to put him anywhere without having full records of the family and if the killer does come back to finish the job, I always have a gun somewhere around me."

"Me too, and I'm there all the time. I guess it could work. I hope the kid won't mind."

"I bet he'll just be happy to get out of the hospital. Adam, you're going to miss the turn." He swerved, the car in front of them giving a very loud, drawn out honk.

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Wow, this is my first fanfiction ever written in my usual writing style. Hope you don't mind the OCs. =]


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, guys, here's the second chapter. I hope you like it. And since I don't want the entire story purely OCs (and Ed), I'm going to add in some alters (if you want, I don't need them there), so I'm taking suggestions through reviews and PMs. Just no Russell or Fletcher because they annoy me (okay, only Russell, Fletcher's adorable), and no Hughes, Al, or Gracia because they were used in the movie. Oh, and I just like reviews in general. Enjoy. =]

I don't own FMA, but I own this plot and most of the characters. Ed, I do not, and several Alter people will be introduced most likely. Have fun reading.

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Chapter Two

"Hi, Ed," Sadie said as she took sat down on the chair next to his bedside. He gave her a small smile. This was her sixth time here, but Ed didn't mind. Since the doctors were always in and out, he never had anyone to talk to. Dr. Anderson had asked if there was anything he wanted, so he said a notebook. Figuring out new alchemic equations was all he had to do. That, and sleep. And he never slept for long.

"Hey," he answered and put his notebook to the side. He'd been trying to find an array that would send him back to Amestris. So far, he'd been getting dead end after dead end. This was his twentieth day. He was willing to have a break. "What's up?"

Sadie shrugged. "The case is crawling along. I have a really good feeling about it though. How do you feel?"

"Better than last time you saw me. The IVs are out of my arm and I finally got my voice back."

"I can hear that," she answered. "Are you still drawing in your sketch pad?" He nodded. "Can I see what you're doing?" Ed hesitated, not sure. Then he just nodded again and mutely handed it over.

"You won't understand it," he said. To make sure that no one would, all his research was scribbled in abbreviations and number sequences that only he could understand. She didn't say anything. He looked over, but she was flipping through the pages, looking lost for words.

"You're right," she answered, laughing nervously. "It looks like what people used to use to change lead to gold. Do you mind if I ask what it is?"

"It's science." He moved his hair from his face and automatically went to move it off his shoulder, but it wasn't there. According to the doctor, he'd gotten a scratch on the back of his neck severe enough that they needed to cut off the longer parts so it didn't get in the way when they stitched it. He hadn't noticed it when he first woke up. But now it just felt weird, like something was missing. "All the numbers and words are equations. I was bored, so I thought I could just start a project."

"This is amazing, kid. And you can make sense of this?" He nodded. "What's your IQ?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't think I ever took the test. If I did, I don't remember."

"I don't think a computer could even make sense of something like this. Where'd you learn this? In school?"

"I taught it to myself."

"So you're telling me that you remember how do math and science this advanced and yet you can't remember how to work a computer or what the internet is?"

"Sounds about right," he answered and sent her a smile. The last time she was here, he'd been forced to ask what a computer was. It'd just come up so much in the conversation that not understanding it had become a hassle. She handed it back to him. "Oh, did I tell you I was going to be discharged once you found someone who could take me in?" He hated how that sounded, because it reminded him of the way he and Al used to talk about all the cats his brother used to collect. "Dr. DeFreeze told me yesterday."

Sadie bit her bottom lip and crossed her legs. Ed had talked to enough people in his military career to recognize nervous behavior.

"You haven't found anyone, have you?" he asked, heart sinking. He couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, and now after twenty days he had a chance to leave and he wasn't able to. Being a minor was too much of a problem. At least back at home he had the benefit of a military title. He hadn't needed anyone to live with, and he could be discharged at anytime by some higher up officer, usually Mustang.

"No, actually, it's the complete opposite," she answered. He looked up. "We just aren't sure if you'll like it…"

"Why not?"

"Well, because Adam and I didn't want to see you put through foster care or be stuck in an orphanage, we were wondering if you'd like to stay with me. My boss and child services both said it was okay, so now it's just up to you."

Mentally he was cheering. The last thing he'd wanted was to forced into staying with people that might end not liking him or him not like them, so this was a god send. Sure, they didn't know each other well enough yet to make a definite decision, but he found her nice enough to be around.

"I don't mind," he said quickly. "As long as you don't mind having a thirteen-year-old boy around all the time, I'll go no problem."

Sadie looked relieved, but probably not as relieved as Ed felt. He was getting out of here and that was all that mattered. "I'll go get the doctor in a bit, but now that you gave the say-so, we'll have to figure some stuff out."

"Like what?"

"Well, a few things, like getting you clothing and getting your school situation straight." School…shit, he'd have to go to school. Why hadn't he remembered that? "And the investigation will still be going on, so every once in a while Adam and I'll have to question you if something new comes up."

"Um, what _kind _of school?" he asked, more concerned about that than anything else. He hadn't gone to school in years, and the only two people his own age that he'd ever talked to were Winry and Al. And he'd always taken care of himself; suddenly having a parental figure and getting shoved into a place where the teachers had all the say and he was just another student was going to be bizarre.

"Private, since there're fewer students. And originally we were going to put you into middle school, as an eighth grader, but if you can do science that complicated, I'm starting to wonder if we might be able to get you into high school. Would you mind being in a school where you're most likely the youngest kid?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine with that. Do you think I could skip straight into college?" he added hopefully, but Sadie just laughed.

"Not a big fan of school I'm taking it," she said.

"Not really," he answered, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"I don't think I'll be able to pull something that hard, but we'll see about high school for now. It'll be hard—"

"I'm fine with hard."

"—but it might be doable if you show them that notebook of yours. But it's only June and we won't enroll you into any school until next September, so let's deal with the more difficult things for now, okay?"

Ed sighed, and nodded. "Okay," he answered. "So when am I going to be discharged?"

"I'll go do that now," she said, sending him a smile as she left.

He lay down on his side, facing away from the door, and looked at the wall, knowing that the whole thing could've been a total mess and trying to convince himself that it wouldn't be too bad. Just damn, he used to be a Major. Sure, he rarely ever used that authority, but he was still used to having people working below him, and being able to give direct orders to find out information and get things done if he needed to. He was also used to being bossed around, but he'd always had some form of bending those orders to fit his own way. Since he was twelve he'd had that. Now it was like someone had stripped him from his rank and sent him somewhere he had zero control over. Sometimes he really wondered if the Gate had a sense of humor. If it did, it found a sick thing to be laughing over.

What would school be like in this world? He hadn't set foot in a school since his mom had been alive. And, now that he thought about it, he'd never actually set foot in a school building; in Resembool, his timeless hometown, classes had been held outside, comprised of only eighteen kids. Would science stay the same? Probably, matter and components didn't seem to have changed. What would history class be like? He'd have to memorize all that before school came. What would using a computer be like? He almost didn't want to know, but it sounded useful. What would the other students think of him?

This place brought up so many questions. Ed was used to questions, but not these kinds of questions. These where simple worries; in Amestris, his worries had been complicated. What did it take to bring back Al's body? How did one make a Philosopher's Stone? Was there a different ingredient to use than mass murder? How could he avoid killing this person? How long could he go on fighting before his body gave out on him? Was the Colonel going to be angry or just his normal level of annoyance?

Those were questions he was used to, most centering on fear, death, pain; he hadn't worried school in years. His homework hadn't been work sheets, but on extensive amounts of research, missions, and decoding that cost ridiculous funds. But maybe this would make a nice change.

Or maybe he'd never get used to it.

"Hey, do you really feel okay enough to leave here, kid?" Sadie's voice cut off his train of thoughts, causing him to jump. He sat up and faced her. "You can stay another few days if you need."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wanted to lie down for a moment," he said, voice almost going out on him for the first time in days. "I got tired. I do really easily, but Dr. Anderson said that was normal for someone in my…condition."

"If you say so, Ed," she answered and holding something out at him. It took him a moment, but he realized they were clothes. "Here, I'll be out of the room. DeFreeze is going to come in to do one last check up—it'll be quick—and we'll leave you to get changed. When you're done, just go. I'll be waiting outside of the door."

"Okay, see in a few minutes."

The last minute assessment of his wounds took all of ten minutes, ending with nothing more than being told to continue taking his pain medication until told otherwise and to get a lot of rest. Apparently it would take a few more months (probably up until about when school began) for his heart to be recovered enough for any major physical exertion. All he did was nod, not really caring, until she finally left, leaving him to get changed.

The clothing seemed bizarre to him. He was given a pair of pants known as jeans, shoes apparently called sneakers, socks, and a normal white tee-shirt. The type of clothing everyone wore. DeFreeze said they were extra clothing given to patients like him who had none to put on after they left. They turned out to be comfortable, but fit strangely, more loosely than he used to. A part of him couldn't help but wonder if Amestris clothing would look like this in the year 2009. Looking down at himself, he decided he appeared okay enough, and left.

"Hey, ready to go?" Sadie asked as they headed off to her car, the discharge papers held in her hand.

"Yeah. Which way to the exit?"  
"Here, just follow me."

She put her arm around him shoulder and he forced himself not to tense. He'd also found out that people here were as touchy as Winry, just without the violence. To him, this went against the norm in the military. Had his job really affected the way he thought this much? He'd never noticed. Havoc and Hughes did this a few times, when they were making sure he was going in the right direction and not trying to make a break for it, but after a while, he'd gotten used to them. Sadie was just shy of being a stranger right now; she didn't quite have the family feel (though he refused to admit it) that the others had. Havoc was like a brother and Hughes was like and annoying cousin or uncle.

The doors opened automatically and he immediately launched into a mental explanation how this was possible, only coming up with the idea of a sensor placed in hinges and controlled by maintenance. But it wasn't like he could ask because, even with the amnesia act, he couldn't seem like he didn't know about anything in this place. The cars in the parking lot looked different too, not like the generic automobiles he saw all over Amestris. This whole thing was becoming a little overwhelming. It was worse than the first time he left Resembool for the city.

"Well, here's my car," Sadie said as she pulled a group of keys out of her pocket and hit a button that made it beep. "Well, get into the passenger's side."

He scurried over and slid in. There was a screen in the middle of the dashboard, right under the radio, which had more dials than he was used to. When she turned the key in the ignition, all those dials glowed and a clock showed next to the thingies that said the amount of gas the car left and how fast you were going.

"You look worried. Ever been in a car before?" she asked, sending him a small smile as she pulled out of the lot and onto the road.

"Yeah, of course. Not often though," he answered, and added, "At least I don't think."

The road had three lanes and cars were zooming by him at speeds he didn't know were possible. What created that much momentum to be able to allow such speed? And how much friction had to be applied to the tires so they could hold the bursts of acceleration?

"So what's your town like?"

"Well, it's really suburban," she said. "In its own way, but it's also a lot like a city. There are lots of places to eat, and stores to go to. There're a mix between apartment buildings and houses, but a lot of houses are split by floor for different families. My parents left me a house, so I have one all to myself, though Adam stays there often because of our job. Oh, and certain areas of town I won't want you to go into to, okay?" She reached down and hit a dial on the radio. He jumped. Ed never did listen to music, but he knew that weren't many songs like the one that came through the speakers. But it must have been popular here, because Sadie was humming along.

"Are there a lot of people?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I live across from a retirement home, just to warn you."

"What's so bad about a retirement home?"

"The old people are always partying."

"Why?"

"Because they're evil and want the young ones like us to be awake all night, why else?"

Ed laughed and Sadie looked over, taking her hand away from the steering wheel to ruffle his hair again. He'd found that she liked to do that a lot. It made him a bit uncomfortable and normally he wouldn't put up with it, but he supposed he could get used to, as long as she was the only one who did it. So far this place wasn't too bad, but he'd only been here for two months, one of which he spent in a coma and the other still in the hospital, so passing complete judgment would be a little hard. Amestris was always on the back of his mind, though, no matter how much he tried to shake it away. And with those thoughts came alchemy. He hadn't had a chance to test out if it worked yet, but he hoped so. Despite the fact that this world was his new reality and he knew he had to accept that, he wanted something to tie back to Amestris and that was his only option. He couldn't go doodling circles and making up theories if there wasn't a way for them to work.

"So why don't you like milk?" she asked, snapping him out of. "You lactose intolerant?"

"It's opaque white liquid secreted from a cow and farmers give their cows hormones to produce more milk, but the cows are unable to keep up with that level of production; their udders are strained from producing so much milk unnaturally. As a result, they get more infections, and the pus and blood from it enters the milk. Hormones get into the milk too, which is why people grow taller," he answered, seeing her visibly pale.

"You serious, kid?"

"Yup."

"How did you remember that?" He shrugged. "Well, I buy organic. But you do realize that milk's generally in stew, right?"

"I try not to think about that." Sadie rolled her eyes. Sometimes she acted more like a teenager than a detective. Then again, he'd never met any "normal" ones. Hughes was as weird as it gets, after all. How were Elicia and Gracia doing…?

"We're almost there," she said. "But I was thinking of getting you clothing first. The outfit they gave you looks a bit too big and you'll need more stuff anyway. How does that sound?"

Shopping. Ed hated shopping. "Do we have to?" he asked, looking out the window. They were passing houses, work buildings, trees…was everywhere like this? Would he find any cities like Central or East City? Any quiet, rural towns like Resembool? For some reason, he really didn't think so. At least this place was warm, though.

"Yup, or you'll be stuck wearing Adam's hand-me-downs until you finally stop procrastinating and decide to go. Won't it be better just to get it over with?"

"Can we make it quick?"

"In and out, I promise."

This was going to be an interesting experience.

* * *

Just as she promised, Sadie made sure to only take about half an hour, including the drive back. The kid was weird, she was beginning to notice. Like a normal boy, he looked reluctant to try on another pair of sneakers and some clothes, but it almost seemed it was more than just a hatred of shopping. And his eyes had widened at the sight of the size of the mall, when it was one of the smallest malls in the northern New Jersey area. She was beginning to wonder if he was from a country town where the largest place to shop was a strip mall. Ed didn't remember though, which was the problem.

"Like the house?" she asked as she opened the door for him to enter. She lived on the edge of Montclair, where the houses were larger. In truth, she would have sold this place a long time ago and moved closer to office, maybe to an apartment since even a small house seemed too large for a single woman of twenty-eight, but it worked great as another place to continue the investigation outside of the actual job. And now she had a "roommate", so maybe it was a good thing she kept it after all.

"Yeah," he answered and nodded. "I haven't been in a place like this since…" He trailed off and made a face.

"Since when?"

"I don't know. I don't remember what I was going to say." Sadie felt her heart sink, because she really, really wanted him to at least get a picture in his head of something that happened before he woke up in a coma.

"Want to get something to eat before I show you to your room?"

His face brightened. She laughed. Typical boy. "I only have stuff for sandwiches and cereal at the moment. I need to go to the supermarket soon. Which do you want?"

"A sandwich is fine," he answered and followed her into the kitchen, dropping the bag from the clothing store next to the entrance door. "Should I take off me shoes?"

"It doesn't matter to me. It's not like they're dirty."

"Okay."

"Is PB&J fine by you? I only have peach, by the way," she asked, pulling out the bread and instructing him to sit on a stool in front of the counter that separated her kitchen from the living room.

"What's that?" She paused, her fingers on the jelly jar, and looked behind her. Ed looked confused. Did he just forget, or had he just never heard the term before? It was a pretty common way of referring to it. Where the hell was this kid from? Sure, he had a strange accent, but she couldn't pin it down to any exact area or country.

"Peanut butter and jelly. I only have peach jelly though, is that okay?" she said after a moment, pulling out the two jars and four pieces of bread. She smiled slightly. It was rare she ever had the opportunity to make two, because Adam was allergic to peanuts and if other coworkers were over, they just ordered takeout.

"Oh yeah, that's fine," he answered and ran his fingers through his hair. It was a strange cut, with his bangs that long on both sides and short in the back. Not to mention the antenna-like piece of hair that up in the front. Then again, it was even weirder when it was longer, because how many kids had long hair? Unless he'd been held captive before he'd finally turned up. They had no way of knowing, though, because Missing Persons had never gotten a call. She shook her head; this was no time to be thinking about the case.

"Here," she said, sliding the plate towards him and pulling up a chair so she facing him. "So what do you think about the little bit of Montclair you've seen?"

He took a bite of the sandwich before answering and she watched his face to see what reaction he had. There wasn't one. "It's fine. Just really filled with people. And loud."

Sadie laughed. "Try seeing New York City. Then you can come back to me and say this is loud."

"Is everywhere around here like this?" he asked, still looking around the house.

"No," she answered. "There are a lot of smaller towns, and a lot of bigger ones. And some more rural towns up in Sussex County, along with summer towns by the shore."

"So New Jersey has a bit of everything, you're saying?"

"Well, yeah. But it's also the most densely populated state in America, so due to the amount of people, there aren't many country areas. And most of shoreline is taken up by vacations towns. Oh, and if you're wondering why almost everything in this house is blue and green, I can tell you right now I'm not the decorator. My mom did this all."

His gaze quickly snapped back to her and he blushed. "Why blue and green?" he asked.

"Because my mom lived by the ocean when she a kid, one of the people who lived all year around down by Cape May. When she moved into this house when she was twenty-one, I guess she went a little crazy and decided to go with sea colors to tie her back to the Jersey Shore. She and my dad moved back there now, which is how I ended up in this house."

"Oh, that makes sense."

They fell silent as they finished their lunch, Ed looking down at the plate and Sadie watching him. She was looking for reactions to things, to see if she could figure anything out from them, but he didn't make much. Without being told, though, he went up and put the plate in the sink when he was done. She wondered if he'd been brought up to be as polite as he was acting or he just felt like he was obligated. Maybe a bit of both.

When they were done, she took him around the rest of house, making sure to show him every room, leaving his own for last. He didn't ask too many questions, but she had the feeling he wanted to.

"And this'll be your room," she said as she pushed open the door. "It used to be my brother's before he went off to college and moved out, so just ignore all the pictures on the shelves. He didn't grab all of them when he left. I'll take them down later."

"Is that you?" he asked, pointing the one her dad had taken on the day of Jake's middle school graduation. He was dressed in the blue gown, but it'd been too big on him, so it was falling off, revealing a peek of green. She was hugging him, a smile on her face, a band-aid on her elbow.

"Yeah, I was a fifth grader at the time. My brother's three years older than me. Want to help me?" He looked over as she put the bags on the floor, reaching a hand in and stuffing the clothes into their drawers.

"What's his name?" he said, glancing back at the picture, eyes traveling to the ones around it.

"Jacob Markov," she answered. "He's married now and lives up in Boston with two kids. If you're still here in November, he comes up for Thanksgiving, so you'll meet him."

"What's there to do around town?"

She put in the last pair of jeans and shut the drawer, and began listing things off on her fingers. "Well, there're a few different parks, tons of places to eat, a movie theater, different fields and courts and whatnot for sports, the stores…you know, places like that."

"How about a library?" he asked, almost before she finished speaking. If it were any other kid, she would've been surprised, but she was almost expecting that question. After all, he mentioned the studying a so many times and a notebook filled with genius material.

"Of course. What town doesn't have a library?"

"Good point."

"But for now, I don't want you going off on your own until you know Montclair better. Even then, I want you to be careful. It takes a while to get used to and there're a lot streets and street names. It's easy to get lost. And you don't have a cell phone."

He nodded and sat down on the bed, looking around the room again. "Was the color scheme in here in defiance to your mom's decorating?"

"Yup. He decided to go for the complete opposite colors. It's a bit of an eyesore, right? I tried to convince him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen. Do you mind if Adam comes for dinner? He normally does on Saturdays, but I said I'd run it by you first."

"Yeah, that's fine," he answered. "Hey, later can you show me how to use a computer?"

"Sure, I have the laptop in my room. Right now, though, I'm going to call Adam. You can come downstairs with me if you want, or stay up here and get used to you room or something. And you should probably change; get out of those hospital clothes."

"Thanks," he said. "For, well, you know. Letting me stay here and stuff. Everything."

Sadie gave him a large smile. "Anytime kid," she answered and ruffled his hair.


	3. Chapter 3

Heyyyy! This chapter is over 6,000 words. I was so surprised when I realized it. So, yeah, I'm having fun doing this. The ending's kinda weird because I didn't know where to cut it off, but oh well. Please review. I'd greatly appreciate it. Well, please enjoy. =]

I don't own FMA, just the plot and characters (besides Ed).

* * *

Chapter Three

"Ed, do you like pizza?" Sadie asked as he entered the kitchen to find her and Adam leaning against the counter.

"Hey, kid, what's up?" Adam said.

Ed shrugged. "Sure, and nothing much. Glad to be out of that hospital."

"Cool. Don't like them much?"

"No, not really. I don't like the smell," he answered.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't like them much either."

"Is plain pizza okay by you?"

"Yeah, okay."

Sadie flipped out her cell phone and dialed the number. Cell phones were so much smaller than he what he was used to, and portable. Actually, he hadn't seen a single corded phone since he came here. Then again, he wasn't too surprised. The technology was more advanced than he thought possible. Science had come far, apparently. He wondered if trains were still commonly used here because all he saw was a single railway, but that was used for transporting goods. Mostly he'd seen where cars, trucks, and buses. They were all so much bigger than he would've imagined, but how could something that large take turns without hitting someone? And the weight they most have carried would be an enormous amount, meaning the grip on the tires would have to be stronger than any of the cars and—

"The pizza'll be here in forty-five minutes," Sadie said, sliding the phone back into her pocket. He shook his head, reminding himself that getting into scientific explanations for every little thing wasn't good for him. In this world, it probably wouldn't be too good if he started living in his own head. "So what do you wanna do until then?"

Ed shrugged, not knowing what to decide, and Adam said, "How about a game of cards? I still have to beat you Sadie." Ed looked up. Cards?

"In your dreams, sweetheart. Hey, Ed, you like cards right?" He nodded. "Ever play Gin Rummy 500?"

He hesitated, not sure. It was possible that he did know the game, and just not by that name. "What's that?" he asked.

Both Sadie and Adam sighed, not looking surprised at all. Ed realized it was probably annoying having to explain practically everything to him.

"Well, each person is dealt seven cards," Adam answered. "And the rest of the pack is turned upside down in the middle of the table, with one card flipped over to show its suit. The turns start generally from left to right, and every hand you put down has to match up with three of its own. Like, you can either put down three Kings, or put a Two, Three, Four of let's said Hearts. So either is three of the same card or a group of the same suit in numerical order. And, for example, you have the fourth King or a Five of Hearts, you can burn a person. On every turn, you pick up one card and throw out another. You can only win if you have enough cards to put down, but still have one to throw out. It's played in multiple rounds, and the game only ends once a player reaches five hundred. On each new round, the dealer becomes the person to the left the dealer beforehand. Make sense?"

Ed nodded. "Sounds easy. But what's each card worth?"

"Well, Two through Nine equals five points," Sadie said. "Tens through Kings equal ten points, and Aces equal fifteen, unless they're used in a sequence as a One. Then it just equals five. Wanna play?"

"Yeah. Who's dealing first?"

"I will," Adam answered as they sat down around the coffee table in the living room. "And by the way, Sadie and I have been playing this game since we first met three years ago, and I haven't beaten her once." He shuffled the cards and passed them out, moving clockwise so he was last. Then he put the cards in the middle and flipped one over. It was Two of Clubs.

"So I start?" Ed said as he picked up the cards. He looked down; a King of Spades, two Tens of Hearts, a Four, Five, and Seven of Spades, and an Ace of Hearts. Not a bad hand, but nothing he could put down right away. He picked up. A Jack of Hearts. Damn. He threw out his King.

"You must have a pretty good hand to throw out a King," Sadie said with a grin.

They played until the pizza came, finishing up just as the doorbell rang. Ed jumped, expecting a knock on the door. He looked down at the score pad where Adam was about to add up the numbers. Sadie went to answer the door.

"Sadie has five hundred and twenty-six points, you have four hundred and eighty-nine, and I have five hundred and twenty-five," he said before Adam was even able to write down the first number. He looked up.

"You figured that out just by glancing at it?" he asked, looking down to double check his own answers.

"I've been keeping the numbers in my head the entire game," he answered as Sadie entered.

"Pizza time," she half-sang. "Now, c'mon, I'm starving. Who won?"

"You of course," Adam said as he and Ed pulled up stools. "But only by a point."

"Really?" She grabbed some plates and handed both of them a slice before pulling up her own seat across from them. "It's hot, kid; don't take a bit just yet. Did you seriously only lose by one point?" Ed nodded and looked down at the pizza. It reminded him a bit of lasagna, just looked better. And probably tasted better, too. "No one's gotten that close to me in a while. Oh, and Adam, I have a question."

"Shoot," he said as Ed took his first bite of pizza, discovering it was actually really, really good. But what did shooting have to do with asking questions? Some the expressions here were really confusing. Like when this girl in the mall called some guy "hot", but she giggled afterwards, so that really confused him. Wouldn't "hot" be used to describe someone with a fever or sunburn, not "cute" like he figured out with context clues?

"Are there any private schools around here that would let a student skip a grade?" she asked.

"Yeah, probably Brookes, why? And Ed, the pizza's easier to eat if you fold in half down the middle like we're doing."

"Oh, uh, thanks," he answered and did so, finding that he right.

"We were talking about having Ed skip a grade," Sadie said, motioning back and forth between the two of them.

"Are you sure, kid? High school's a lot harder than middle school." Adam turned to face him.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine," he answered. "Can I have another slice?"

"Oh, sure." Sadie handed him another. "And if you see his notebook, you'll get why?"

"You mean the sketch pad?"

"Yup. Ed, do you mind showing him when you're done?"

"Okay," he answered, taking one last bite and going up stairs. He felt weird, showing his material, but they didn't understand it, so it _should _be fine. And he doubted that _anyone_ in this world would get it.

"Here," he said as he entered the kitchen again holding it out to Adam as he washed his hands. "Just don't get any water on it…"

"I won't." Adam dried off his hands and opened up the sketch pad to the first page. For a moment he just stared, not doing anything, causing Ed to feel a bit uncomfortable. Then he looked through the other pages, the shocked expression not leaving his face.

"_You _did this?" He flipped through one last time before handing it back. Ed hugged it to his chest and nodded. "What is it?"

"Science," he answered. "Equations. Self research. I got bored while I was in the hospital. If didn't keep falling asleep there probably would've been more…"

"He taught it to himself," Sadie said, standing up behind him. "See what I mean?"

"You're only thirteen! When did you find the time to learn this? _How _did you learn this?" Ed sighed; he was used to this reaction.

"Um, when I was six," he answered. "And from books. I have a feeling in my house, but I can't tell you for certain…"

"See, Adam? I told you he was genius. Scientists of the world would faint if they heard that."

"My mom said the same thing," he said before he could stop himself, remembering her saying, "If the alchemists of the world heard this, they'd probably faint." Of course, he hadn't realized at the time that she meant because he'd figured it out when he was that young, but now he did.

"What? You remember that?"

"I don't know where that came from," he mumbled, looking down at his feet. If he knew he wouldn't be thrown into an asylum, he would just tell them (or at least Sadie), but he couldn't. He didn't want to be called crazy.

The two adults groaned. "Are you sure you can't come up with anything else?"

"I'm trying, but I can't," he answered, still looking at his feet, using his bangs to cover his eyes. They were quite convenient, when he really thought about it. He felt Sadie's hand in his hair.

"It's okay, kid. Just if you remember something, just tell us, okay?" He nodded. "So Adam, what do you think? High school material?"

"Yeah, I suggest that you call soon, though. Like in the next week or two. Jesus Christ. So, um, off of the subject of geniuses, what do you wanna do?"

"A movie?"

"Sounds okay to me. How about you, kid?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. Whatever one you want." He mentally braced himself, because he doubted the movies in this world were anything like the ones in Amestris.

* * *

"So see you Monday, Adam?" Sadie asked as Adam was about to leave, leaning against the frame the entrance doorway. "You sure you don't want to stay over?"

"Nah, we don't need to go into the office, remember? Come over my place or something. And sorry, can't stay tonight. I have a date." He smiled. The face he was making reminded Ed of Havoc, when he managed to get a girl before the Colonel got her. Not that they ever lasted long…he hoped Adam had better luck.

"Ooo, really? Who is she?" Sadie said. "I hope she doesn't mind that you stay over my place all the time."

"The daughter of the man who owns this dinner on Route 23," he answered. "And I'm sure she won't. This is only the first date though; don't need to bring that up just yet, unless she asks. Well, I have to go. So bye. And kid, practice that card game. I want to see someone finally wipe that smirk off her face."

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not here!"

"Sure, I promise," Ed said, giving him a smile. "Bye."

"Bye, Adam."

He left and Sadie shut the door, shaking her head. "You look beat, kid. Do you still want me to teach you how to use the laptop now, or tomorrow?"

"I look beat?" he said, confused.

She sighed. "It means tired, Ed. You should get some sleep. Oh, and I should probably give you the pain medication, too."

Why did everything need to be slang here? "Okay." He yawned, turning into his elbow to stifle the sound. "Can you just show me tomorrow?"

"Sure, c'mon, it's in the kitchen." He followed her back into the room where she handed him two pills a glass of water. "Your tooth brush and stuff is in the bathroom across the hall from your room. If you want, you can take a shower tonight or just leave it for tomorrow morning. I can't believe they're making you have two of these things." The last part was mumbled to the medication container.

"I generally shower in the morning. Thanks." He put the glass back in the sink and headed upstairs, exhaustion hitting him all at once. He hadn't really felt it until she pointed it out. But no, he was going to stay away a little bit longer before going to bed, because this would be his first chance to test out alchemy. All he had to do was hope she wasn't passing when the light flashed, because it would show under the door, even if he kept the lamp on.

The bathroom was very clean, and followed the blue theme of the rest of the house. The tiles, the sink, the outline of the mirror, the shower curtain…all blue. Mrs. Markov really did go all out. But nothing that Sadie had put in was blue or green, not even his tooth brush and the one next to it, who he assumed was Adam's. Sadie had a bathroom attached to her bedroom, so it obviously wasn't here. He looked up at himself in the mirror, and realized that the back of his hair must be a wreck. All they did was cut off the long part, but that didn't mean they fixed it. Oh well, he'd deal with that tomorrow. Now to go back to his room and see if alchemy worked.

But what to transmute? he wondered as he looked around the rather tidy bedroom. He sat on the bed and let his eyes drift around, trying to decide. Changing anything big would be tiring when he was this exhausted, so that took out about half the things he could do. What would he do if it didn't work? He didn't want to think about that, not just yet. Well, if he couldn't transmute with just a clap, he would try it with a circle. One of them _had _to work. Otherwise he wouldn't be Edward Elric anymore. First and foremost, he was an alchemist and alchemy even dominated his first few memories, when he would watch his dad in the study, pouring over theories. As much as he hated the man, he really had to thank him for that. If it weren't for him, he would've never tried alchemy in the first place. Even with all the trouble it had caused him in his life, it was still nice to be able to use it.

He decided to go with as simple as possible and pulled out his sketch pad again, ripping out the last page and placing it on the writing desk under the window. He pulled down the shades, because it would look pretty strange to passerby to see the sudden blue glow of alchemic power. He paused, listening for footsteps out in the hallway, a task made difficult by the carpet. When he was positive Sadie wasn't coming, he clapped, making sure not to be loud, and put them on the edges of the paper. The effect was instantaneous: the paper had folded itself in a paper crane. A smile split his face into and he quietly cheered, still tired, but suddenly without the need to just fall down onto the bed and go to sleep. It worked, it worked!

Then the smile grew even wider, if possible, because this meant he had just the slightest chance of going home.

* * *

Sadie found that living with the Elric kid to be surprisingly easy, and somewhat fun. Unlike most thirteen-year-old boys, he didn't have that edge of evil that middle school left. There was something about him that was so unbelievably innocent at times, like how he'd forgotten to use the microwave and had to ask for help, blushing like he did every time he needed a hand. Or when he'd look at certain foods like he'd never tried them before. There were some moments that it seemed he'd forgotten the entire world and had to learn everything from scratch. And sometimes it was like he knew everything already and she didn't need to explain anything. A lot of times, it was like having a little brother.

But other times, it was like that innocence was stripped away and it felt like he knew things even better than she did or he'd look at her and something about his gaze would make her heart stop. It was like she was seeing someone that had a thousand years' experience and an intelligence that was frightening. Computers were complicated, especially for someone who knew absolutely nothing about them, but he figured it out in a matter of minutes. And he finished the books they borrowed from the library for him to read so he had something to do when she had to bring him to work faster than anyone she'd ever met. During school, the works of geniuses were taught all the time, the main subject of most classes, but she never thought she'd actually meet one. But for all his ignorance to new technology and the terms everyday people spoke in, he was still her proof that they really did exist. She was living with one.

"I'm going to call about the skipping the grade thing today, okay?" she said at breakfast, passing him an egg sandwich. It was Saturday again, a good day to call because the school wouldn't be as busy. "You might need to go in, though. To show them what you can do and whatnot."

"That's okay," he answered. "I've taught myself history again"—he blushed—"so I should be fine, right?"

"Totally. But it might take a while, because I'll have to explain the situation you're in. It's a little…"

"Unique," he finished for her, voice deadpanned.

"Yeah," she said. "Hey, do you want to get a haircut? I keep forgetting to ask. You're hair seems a little mismatched because of the way the hospital had to cut it."

He bit his bottom lip. "Can I just do it myself? Cutting the back'll be hard but I don't really want to have my bangs chopped off."

She paused a bit before saying anything, because he'd just answered a question she'd had for a while. She'd wondered if his hair just grew out that way, or he actually like it. Sure, it didn't look bad on him, actually more of the opposite, but it was so unusual. But who cut it that way in the first place? It wasn't like type of thing that a kid would pick on his own. Of course, Ed couldn't answer, but that didn't stop her from thinking about it.

"Sure," she answered with a smile. "But how about I do it? It's just a bit longer in some area, so I'll have to do is even it out."

"And you won't cut my bangs?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Okay."

"Let's go cut it now, then, before I call."

It took all of five minutes, since he didn't make a fuss about when she pulled his hair a bit too hard and he stayed perfectly still. Then she pulled the towel off his neck and wiped some of the hair off his back before shaking all of it into the trash. She double checked to make sure none got into the stitches there (it looked bad, not that she saw it this close up, barely an inch away from his hairline and a few inches down his back), and when she was satisfied, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number of the school.

"Come with back downstairs," she said while it rang. He followed obediently. They hadn't even made it out of the hallway before the secretary picked up.

"_Hello, Brooke's School. I'm Sarah Weller, what can I do for you_?" Her voice made Sadie wince; she sounded like a recording. She hated when actually people sounded like machines. It had been a pet peeve of hers since she was kid.

"Hi, I'm Sadie Markov," she said. "Can you either patch me through to either the principal or the overall school supervisor?"

"_One moment please_." Sadie made a face.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked.

"Nothing, just the woman who picked up the phone is really annoying." Ed laughed.

"_Hello_?" came a man's voice from the other end of the phone.

"Hi, I'm Sadie Markov, like I told your secretary. I'm calling to see about a student entering? He'd have to skip a grade or two, since he's only thirteen. Is that doable?"

The man on the other end sighed. "_We normally don't do this. What makes you think the child is able to_?"

"Well, uh." She glanced back at Ed, but he was looking out the window. "Hold on." She covered the phone. "Hey, kid, can you leave the room for a moment? Don't worry, I won't say anything bad." She gave him a small smile. "Just he's about to get nosy and it'll be easier to speak to him that way." He nodded and left, heading back towards his room. She felt a bit bad, but she knew she'd have to explain everything and she was pretty sure he didn't want to hear the story yet again.

"_Are you still there_?" the man said, sounding annoyed. She uncovered the phone.

"Sorry, I just had to ask him something. But you see, this kid is brilliant. His name's Edward Elric. I've only known him for about six weeks, but I can tell you that eighth grade will be way too easy for him. He has this notebook, and it's crammed with things that I can't even comprehend."

"_I see. You say you've only known him six weeks. Are you his foster mother_?"

"No," she answered. "He was involved in the case with the serial killer down in South Jersey. He was a victim, but made it out alive. He fell into a coma for a month, but that didn't seem to have affected his intelligence. The only damage it did was give him amnesia, but not about everything. He can still speak normally, remembered his name and age, a few things that happened before he was attacked, but he has huge gaps in his memory. We couldn't find his parents and we suspect they're dead, so he's living with me. I'm a detective on the case, and I suppose I'm his adoptive mother."

There was a very long pause, and then the man finally said, "_Very well, do you think you can bring him in sometime within the next forty minutes? Tomorrow we're closed and since it's a Saturday, we close up after lunch break. Tell him to bring something to show us and he'll have to take a small test. Nothing is guaranteed, but it might be doable if he's as smart as you say._"

She breathed a sigh of relief. Ed was going so happy. "Okay, I'll see you in about twenty minutes."

"_See you then._"

"Bye." They hung up. "Hey, Ed! You can come down now! Grab your research or something!"

"Okay!" he called back.

She leaned back against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, a smile on her face. In all honesty, she'd expected that to be a lot harder.

"Did he really say I might be able to?" Ed said as he reached her, sounding happier than she'd ever heard him. Hopefully he'd be able to. But then it got to the problem if he was able to handle it. Not the work, but the people. When talking to her, he sounded completely casual, like he was speaking to an equal, because she could understand him. Connecting with others his own age, though, might be a problem.

"He said they'd have to test you first, but yeah, there's a chance. He's seeing you, isn't he? Now, come on, into the car," she answered, getting him to hurry to the car.

"So what's the school called?" he asked he got into the passenger's seat and they pulled out into the street.

"Brookes School. Simple name. It's a private school, but I'm not one hundred percent sure that you have to wear a uniform. And it has no bus, so if you make, I'll have to drive you every morning."

"Oh, um, sorry for the inconvenience."

"It's fine. Even on days when I have to go into the office, it'll be easy because it's on the way."

"Oh, okay."

"Don't worry so much, kid," she said and laughed. "You're not a problem at all. I wouldn't have asked to take care of you if I thought you would be."

In return, he just nodded. She reached out her hand and turned on the radio, and sifted through the stations, realizing the best thing on was a hip-hop song. Ed looked startled for a moment.

"Do you want me to turn it off?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, it's all right. I should really expect it by now," he said, blushing. If she pointed something out like that, he always looked embarrassed. Why was that?

"If you say so," she answered with a shrug. He went back to looking out the window, holding his notebook (this time an actual notebook, not just a sketch pad) to his chest again. She'd noticed that whenever he held it, it was more like he was clinging to it. It seemed like science was his lifeline sometimes. Silence fell for the rest of the ride.

"Ed, we're here," she said as they pulled into the parking lot. When she didn't get an answer, she looked over, realizing he'd fallen asleep, holding the notebook the way most people held teddy bears. She smiled slightly at the sight. Weird kid. Reaching over, she shook him awake.

"What?" he asked, rubbing his eye with left hand. That was another thing she noticed; if he touched his face, whether it was to yawn or to move his hair from his eyes, it was always his left hand, through he was most definitely a righty.

"I said that we're here. Come on, they're waiting for us."

"Oh, sorry for falling asleep."

"You don't need to apologize, kid," she reminded him as he unbuckled his seatbelt and left the car. The outside of the school was nice, she noticed. The inside was, too, she saw as they entered. But then again, it was a nice area to have a school. She looked around for someone she could ask directions from; she didn't know where the office was and the school was huge. Ed was looking around too. She hoped the size wouldn't be too intimidating to him, once it was filled with people.

"You must be Mrs. Markov," someone said, causing both she and Ed to jump. The woman just appeared out of nowhere. Though she no longer sounded robotic, Sadie recognized her from the phone.

"It's Miss," she answered. "I'm not married. Can you tell us where the office is?"

"I was sent to wait for you by the door so that I could show you." Sadie's dislike for this woman increased. She had one of those high-and-mighty personalities. "No, come on. We don't have all day."

Sadie and Ed exchanged a look as they took off. After three left and a right, they reached the main office, causing her first impression to be an observation on how easy it must be to get lost. There was no way a private school could have a student population large enough to make this necessary.

"Mr. Travis is waiting for you just beyond this door," she said. "I'll be waiting out here to lead you back to the entrance." Sadie nodded, not bothering to say 'thanks' and pulled Ed into the room along with her. He looked scared suddenly. Maybe the size of school really had overwhelmed him. He gave on last look at the secretary, face white, before entering after her.

"Hello, Ms. Markov." Mr. Travis was a tall man in what she guessed to be his mid-thirties, younger than she'd thought. He had posters hung up around the office, displaying different sports teams. Most were of the Yankees. He had a good taste in baseball teams. "And I'm taking it that you're Edward?"

"Yeah, I'm Edward Elric," he answered and took a step forward so he was next to Sadie instead of behind her. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Edward," he said, but he gave Sadie a look that clearly said, _Is this really who I'm supposed to be considering? _"Well, sit down you two."

"Thanks for seeing us so soon after the call. I expected it to take a while."

"There was time now, and there might not be until August. I figured that it would be simpler if we just did it today. So, Edward, you're interesting in skipping a grade?"

Ed looked to Sadie, who nodded.

"Yeah," he answered. "Eighth grade would be too easy, so I thought that going straight up to high school would be better. Um, I brought something I was working on so you could see why." He handed it over.

There was a very long silence where Ed fidgeted, Mr. Travis read, and Sadie stared at the clock. The hour hand was almost at one now. The minutes ticked by. Wasn't what Ed brought only six pages? Surely it didn't take ten minutes to read six pages. If he couldn't get it in ten minutes, then he wouldn't get it at all. Sadie wished there was a radio or something. She hated it when things got too quiet and the silence in the small principal's office was so thick she could cut it with a knife.

"Mr. Elric, would you like to know something?" Travis eventually said. She looked back over. He still hadn't handed it back.

Ed nodded.

"My major in college was mathematics and physics. I took some of the hardest classes in the school and I had the possibility to work with math and physics for the rest of my life, but I chose to get a teaching degree instead because I wanted to help others learn. I graduated top in my class." He paused and she was almost certain that it was for dramatic effect. "But what you did here is something so complicated that I can't even understand the entirety of it all. Of all the things to become interested in, why aerospace science and ancient alchemy? Three pages on each subject and both seem flawless. So tell, why those two subjects?"

Sadie turned and looked to Ed, alarmed. He was able to figure those out on his own?

"I was on the computer and I was looking for something and I stumbled across a website on rockets and how they work," he answered, looking unsure. "I got interested, so I started looking into it more and it said that so far they'd only been able to get a ship with people in it to the moon and not much further, so I figured that even though technology is as advanced as it is, and the idea of going at least to Mars is in the range of possibility, it hasn't worked yet. So I started thinking about how it would be possible and started doing equations and bouncing ideas around on paper. And scientists might be heading in the right direction, they must be stopped at how to make a ship the right weight to carry it all the way out without the people inside dying from exposure of whatever there is in space, like the freezing temperature and the cancer-causing ultraviolet rays that come off of the sun. It's the material they're using; it can't hold the weight of the fuel and equipment. But they also don't have enough fuel to bring the ship to and from the desired destination because they don't have access to the amount needed nor something strong enough to hold it all. I haven't figured out the exact type of material yet, but I know its strength should be double of the current ones and about a quarter of the current weight. The resilience should also be tripled if for the lighter materials to work. The mass of the object seems fine, though. It's really just a problem of what it lacks. But it all needs to be balanced, and the current makeup is a little off of what they want. It's the same with missiles, by the way. They'll be able to get one to go further if the weight dropped, because the launch they're using is fine. Though probably a larger momentum would be needed and it would have to be perfectly timed but…It would create war weapons even more dangerous than they are now, with the exception of the atomic bomb."

"Run that by me again," Sadie said weakly. He didn't even explain it all! How did he manage to figure all of this? What even gave him the _ability _to figure it all out?

"Hm. That sounds just about right. What made you come up with that theory?"

"Automobiles," he answered. "And the speed they can get up to. They burn up more fuel the faster they go, right? And, despite how fast they seem to be able to go on highways, larger cars and trucks won't be able to make it up to the speed of smaller cars, which is why smaller cars are used to race rather than a van."

"And what made you like alchemy?"

Ed shrugged. "I taught the principles of it to myself when I was six and I've just worked on it since then."

"And what have you discovered?"

"The ancient scientists who thought they could turn lead to gold with that kind of circle were idiots. Those symbols can't do anything. You would need a full blown transmutation circle, and the runes shouldn't be that complex. It's all the simple matter of Equivalent Exchange and…" Ed's words suddenly died and his face went pale. Now it was obvious that Sadie wasn't the only one who didn't understand; Travis looked as confused as she was. "Um, never mind." His voice shook just a bit, barely noticeable to someone who hadn't been looking for it.

"So, does he have a place in your school, Mr. Travis?" she said to break the moment. Something very strange must have happened because Ed normally wouldn't have just stopped speaking if they looked confused. Did it trigger a memory?

"Oh, yes, that was what we were discussing wasn't it?" He sounded nervous, too, but she couldn't understand why. Shock? "I wasn't expecting that. But yes, you do. With knowledge like that you could go straight off to college…anyway, let's not think about that for now. I'm sorry, but we can only put you to freshman year, though maybe I can bend at least science so you can be in chemistry. How old are you again?"

"T-thirteen." Ed's face was still pale as he stood up and walked towards the door. Sadie put a hand on his head. He looked up at her, but she just gave him a smile. He returned it weakly.

"You're…" He cut himself off and pulled a booklet and two papers off of his desk. "Ms. Markov, here's the information on Brookes School, such as the dress code, the rules, and the class schedule and all the courses offered. And here're the enrollment papers. I have one last question, Edward, and then I won't see you until September."

"What?" Sadie moved her hand from his head to around his shoulders.

"Your electives. Freshmen are offered three. I suggest that one is a world language—we teach Latin, French, and Spanish. And then either an art, literature, or computer course, and you're allowed to double up on either math or science."

"Can you choose?" Ed mumbled, looking up at Sadie.

"Are you sure you don't want to?" He nodded and looked down at his feet. She was starting to get worried. "Okay…Spanish, double up on science maybe? Then you can take biology and chemistry. And maybe multi-media? My niece has that course in her school and she liked it. You offer that, right?"

"Yes. Is that fine by you, Edward?"

Once again, he nodded.

"Okay, then. You'll receive your schedule in August and you can just mail the enrollment forms to the schools. I hope to see you in September, Edward. Enjoy your summer."

"Thank you. Bye."

"Bye."

They left.


	4. Chapter 4

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, what's up? Here's the fourth chapter. School starts in two days, shoot me. Anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah. I had so much fun writing this chapter. Don't ask why, I don't really know.

Please suggest more Alters. I'm not going to use all of them but I've only gotten suggestions from like two people. And thanks to all the like four people who review me. =]

I don't own FMA, just this plot, the idea, and all characters except for Ed and technically the Alters.

* * *

Chapter Four

"Hey, Ed, what happened in there?" Sadie asked quietly as they pulled into the driveway. The car ride had been completely silent. Ed looked over as she cut the ignition. Neither made a move to get out. He didn't know how to answer that question, so instead he just pulled his knees up his chest and stared out the windshield.

"I don't know." He shrugged. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sadie give him a look. His lie was pretty transparent, he supposed. He felt a little guilty, because he was lying to her about most things. For not the first time, he wondered if he could tell her, if he could show her, but decided it would be better not to, no matter how much he needed a friend. "I guess I just realized that neither of you knew what I was talking about. And if you guys can't, then how will I…" He trailed off. It was only a half made up worry.

"Look, you'll be fine, kid. It'll be awkward, I know, and probably hard in the beginning, but there's no way around you going to school."

"Okay." They got out of the car and went back into the house, and he realized that starting September, he'd be doing this everyday at three.

"So," she said after a bit, because this was one the longest and most uncomfortable silences they'd had so far. "You obviously want to explain it to someone, so what's Equivalent Exchange? I might not understand, but it might be okay to bounce ideas off of me."

Ed jumped up on the counter (she didn't mind when he did that) and looked at her, debating. She was right; it would be nice to talk about it. And just because he did didn't mean he'd be giving it away. The only way it possible could would be if she already suspected something, but there was no way she could, because who thought that the kid they taking care of came from another world? Even to Ed, who was living it, thought it sounded unbelievable.

"Well, Equivalent Exchange states that nothing can be gained without first giving something up in return, which applies to alchemy because…"

And he went off, explaining the entire thing, knowing that he must have sounded like he was talking about a person rather than a scientific study. Sadie was a good listener, too; she didn't interrupt him. It felt like a load was lifted from his shoulders, because he finally discussing something he was familiar with. It was almost like he was talking about an old friend.

"That's really cool, kid," Sadie said when he was finished. "I can see what you were getting at, that everything in life is Equivalent. So is that where you think ancient alchemists went wrong, because they didn't see that?"

Ed nodded. "Because of you really think about, it's the type of principle you have to think about in everyday life first, before you can go and apply it extensive study. And if you really think about it, you could do so much more with alchemy than just making lead to gold. It isn't magic or anything, it's science. The possibility of what can be done with it is almost limitless, as long as it's Equivalent and follows Providence and Conservation. But, of course, there are certain things you wouldn't be able to do with it, like raise the dead…you'd have to be really lucky, or have something to break the Law of Equivalence. See?"

Sadie laughed. "I'll admit, there're certain areas that went way over my head, but if you kept going, I'm sure it would've made more sense. You really love this stuff, don't you? What got you so into this anyway?"

He shrugged, having to catch himself before he said anything like, "It made my mom happy." He'd already slipped up more than enough. "I want to be scientist when I get older," was what he answered instead.

"I can see that. What kind?"

"A rocket scientist sounds interesting. Maybe I could go up to space one day, if I'm still here. Think about it…even if the navigation is off and we don't reach our destination, we'll still end up among the stars. Who knows? Maybe you'll even find an entrance to a new world, a different place to call home." There was silence from Sadie. He looked over, confused. "What is it?"

"What do you mean by 'if I'm still here'?" she asked, leaning against the counter next to knees. Shit, did he really say that? Watching what he said was harder than he thought.

"Hey, Sadie?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"You won't put in foster care or anything right? If you can't find my parents and this case is over, can I still stay here?"

"Of course, why?"

"Just wondering." He swung his feet back and forth, wondering how Al was doing. What would he do if he were in Ed's place right now?

"Can you do me a favor, Ed?"

"Yeah."

"Try to remember something."

Ed looked down at his lap. This day was turning out to be filled with punctured silences. They'd say something, then fall quiet, say something, then fall quiet…

"My mom," he said. "I think she fell ill. I can't remember what she looked like, but I remember walking into the house with groceries in my hand and finding her lying there, on the floor, all the vegetables sprawled out around her. And I remember fire, a house burning down, but it wasn't my home. But…I can't get pictures in my head. All I see are words and numbers and alchemic symbols. They make a language I can understand, but they won't show me anything that can actually help. For the fire, I remembered a transmutation circle, red, a figure of a flame breaking the top of the circle. It has a diamond in the middle, a triangle in the top half and on each side of the diamond, another triangle comes out. Underneath the diamond is a salamander."

"Is that how you see everything? Through alchemy?"

Ed nodded. "I didn't used to, but I do now."

She looked over at him, sipping a glass of water he hadn't noticed before. "What changed the way you thought?"

"I think it's because I don't remember anything else, just science and my weird, almost unachievable goals."

Sadie sighed and shook her head. "You know, you're really something else, Ed."

"What does that mean?" He started to swing his feet again and wondered how everyone back at home was, and if he'd ever see them again.

"It means I've never met anyone like you before. I'm always around other detectives now, so I automatically think of everything as having an answer, but that doesn't always mean I can find one. You think of everything with the answer always in mind." She took another sip of water. "People would kill for that, Ed."

"Why?" he asked, hopping off the counter, coughing as his feet hit the floor. Sadie put her hand on his head, like she always did. He shook away the moment of dizziness; it was only a small jump, but it felt like all the air had been sucked out of him.

"Hey, be careful. Think about what the doctor told you," she said. "And people are always looking for answers. Just most aren't lucky enough to find it. It makes you a bit of paradox, really."

"How?"

"Because you know all the answers, but you're made of questions," she answered. "You're exactly the kind of person that detectives both love and find absolutely infuriating. We know nothing about you, and we can't seem to figure out anything of those nothings that make up the total nothing, so all we can hope to do is solve that mystery. Make sense?"

"Yeah, it does, surprisingly. I never thought of myself as a paradox, though."

"It would be weird if you did. Do you want any lunch?"

"Hm?" He looked up at her as she took her hand off his head. "Oh, yeah, sure. I was getting hungry anyway."

"I'll make pasta," she said. "You're probably getting sick of peanut butter and jelly, aren't you?"

" No," he laughed. "I'm the type of person who could eat the same thing everyday and not get sick of it."

"You and me both, kid. Oh, and you should know by now that Adam comes over every Saturday, right? Well, instead of pizza we've decided to order Chinese food today. And there's a cup in the dishwasher if you want something to drink."

"Thanks. What's Chinese food—sorry, I forgot."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? You don't need to apologize. And it's just noodles and stuff, some soup, rice, these roll things, shrimp…I don't really know how to describe it."

"Is it good?" he asked, then mentally slapped himself. Why else would she get it if it wasn't good?

"Yeah," she answered. "Tastes a lot different than most of the things you've eaten here. Willing to try something new?"

"Okay." If he didn't try anything new, he wouldn't have eaten anything at all. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." She smiled. He smiled back. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. But okay, what is it?"

"Did the doctor's explain to you how I managed to survive the, um, stab?"

She shook her head. "Not in detail. They just said that your heart came out unaffected and it was amazing you'd managed to survive. You're pretty lucky to be standing here."

Yeah, no need to die a third time, he couldn't help but think. "I guess so. Are you going to be discussing the case again tonight?"

"Yup, and would you mind if you tucked in early today? I don't mean too early, like ten-ish or something. Towards the end it's going to get classified…oh, and he's staying over again tonight."

"Sure," he answered. "I normally can't force myself awake anymore past ten thirty now anyway. I used to be able to pull all-nighters."

"What?" she asked as the placed the pasta into the now boiling pot of water. "When?"

"I don't know," he said automatically, and frowned. "I don't know why I would in the first place. I hate it when I do that."

"You mean when you say stuff but don't remember what you mean?"

"Yeah."

"If you remember everything in transmutation circles, what transmutation circle do you remember me in?" she asked. Ed looked over at her, not expecting the question. He didn't actually think in transmutation circles (for the most part), but it was the easiest lie he could make up on the spot. How else was he supposed to explain how he remembered certain things without being able to give detail? This was a lot hard than it should be. But, if she were a transmutation circle, which one would she be…

"The one for hydrogen," he answered, getting himself some water. That was all he really drank around here, because she mostly had milk and cranberry juice. Ed wasn't a big fan of cranberry juice and milk was just disgusting.

"Why's that?" she said, bringing the pasta pot over to the sink and dumping it into the strainer, shaking out the water. "Oh, damn, I forgot to make sauce…"

"Melt butter, mix it with the pasta, and put cheese on the top."

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"Interesting. You never answered why you'd remember me as hydrogen."

"Because the sun's a great big, glowing ball of it," he answered. "Just like all the stars. And you always seem happy, you know? And I associate sunlight with the color yellow, which to me means happiness. But sometimes you also get worried, so it's like a cloud passing over that sunlight. The hydrogen ball is still there, it's just covered by a passing obstruction."

"I never would've thought about it that way," she said, putting a bit of butter into a small glass cup and placing it in the microwave. "How long until it melts?"

"Try twenty seconds, but I'm not sure. I can't tell with microwaves."

"What transmutation circle do you see yourself in?" She put twenty seconds into the timer. Ed thought a bit. Then he looked around, and grabbed a piece of notebook and pen.

"Here, I'll show you." Quickly, while adding no real detail, he sketched the transmutation circle used for human transmutation, the one he performed on Mom. The array that caused his biggest mistake, a constant reminder of what brought him to this strange new world in the first place. "See? This is how." He handed her the drawing. "It's the quick version."

"And what's this for?"

"It's used to do the impossible," he said, even if he knew it wasn't a real answer. He finish his water and Sadie served the pasta. "But never actually succeeds."

"So how would you get these circles to actually work? You can't just put your hand down on the paper and expect it to happen, right?"

"Ever heard of a scientist named Hohenheim?" he asked instead. That was a question he would prefer to avoid. He didn't want to lie about it. Anything else he could, but not about that.

Sadie gave him a weird look. "Yeah, he lived around the time of World War II. He was supposed to have been brilliant. Why?"

"I learned my circle from his research," he answered.

"Y-you got your hands on that? When you were six?" She stared at him, like out of everything she'd heard, this was the most amazing. The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. It wasn't like he could explain that Hohenheim was his father, and his work's were scattered all over his study, Ed's academic playground.

"I guess so," he said. "I had his notes. His handwriting was really hard to read by the way, as messy as mine."

"I find that hard to believe. You're handwriting's a wreck, how could a great scholar like him have handwriting like yours?" They were suddenly both grinning at each other. Ed suddenly felt more relaxed than he had all day.

"Actually, it kind of looked like mine, too. His cursive 'g's looked the same way mine turned out. And the way I write my 4's." Originally, when he'd realized the similarities between their writings—handwriting as well as style—it had infuriating. Now, sitting in Sadie's kitchen, the same similarity seemed almost…funny. Strange.

"Seriously? What did you do, copy his style by accident?" She ran her fingers through her hair, making a face when she tugged on a knot.

"No!" he said. And, well, it was true. "It's just similar. I'm sure a library around here has a copy of his handwritten work; if I can find it, I'll show you."

"Fine, kid. I doubt it though. How would you remember that anyway?"

"I have no idea," he answered as he finished his pasta. "I remember a lot of weird things, but nothing that could help us…" He sighed. It more meant 'there's nothing I can tell you', but she didn't need to know that.

"Why does your hair stick up like that?" she asked suddenly. Conversation between them changed rapidly, he noticed. Not that he minded. Sometimes it was better than talking about the same subject for hours.

"No idea," he said, bringing his plate over to the sink. "I think it's done that my entire life."

"I've never met anyone else's who does that." She pulled her hair back, and looked annoyed when she couldn't pull the shorter pieces of her bangs along with it. For a moment, she reminded him of a brunette Winry. "I swear to god, you look like an anime character or something because of it."

"What's anime?" he asked, confused. Was it another one of their slang? He hated it when they used words he didn't understand. Amestris had its own form of speech and phrases, but he couldn't use that here. Inwardly, he sighed.

"The Japanese versions of cartoons," she answered. "My niece had an obsession with watching this one show called Sailor Moon when she was young. Glad she's out of that phase. It was all she used to talk about."

"So is me looking like on a bad thing…?" He subconsciously tried to flatten that piece of hair to the side, but it defined all gravity and sprung up again. Now that she mentioned it, he realized that he really didn't know why it did that. His dad's did too, but his stuck down, not up. His actually followed the laws of gravity, unlike his.

"Oh, no, not at all," she answered, shaking her head. "It's just an observation. Now move. You're in front of the dishwasher."

He scurried out the way as she opened it and put the two plates inside. He still didn't understand the point of dishwashers; would it be easier to wash them by hand? Back in Amestris, he used to have to wash the dishes all the time, and it never took long. Certain technology here was completely unnecessary. But he couldn't wait to tell Al all about it when he got back, because he would get back there one day. He was determined. Though he still didn't know why he turned back into a thirteen-year-old again. Though sometimes the Gate made no sense, so he'd think about that later.

"I'm going to the supermarket before Adam gets here," Sadie said. "Do you want anything in particular?"

Ed shook his head.

"Okay, then what kind of fruit do you like?"

"Any kind," he answered.

"I'll see you in a bit," she said, leaning over to get her money from the other side of the counter. "You can use the laptop if you want, and if the door rings, check to make sure it's Adam."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, kid."

* * *

Adam showed up around six, and they were eating Chinese food by seven. Sadie slid the cards they were playing while eating back into the holder. Somehow, amazingly, Ed had managed to beat her.

"You're a worthy opponent, kid," she laughed, ruffling his hair. He grinned. "The only person who can win by such a landslide is Jake."

"I thought I was going to lose there for a second," he said, throwing out some of the empty containers of food. He'd liked it, he'd said. Sadie was happy, because the kid seemed to like everything (except milk), which was great. Living with picky eaters never turned out good, especially when she herself was pretty picky. "So it was good thing Adam threw out that Ace towards the end."

"Ah, yes, I fell directly into your trap, didn't I?" Adam said, pulling out a case file. They'd decided to let Ed help them for a bit in the beginning, before the conversation turned to more classified information. Another great thing about Ed was how not-squeamish he was, because otherwise he'd never be able to be around when Adam came over. Though he had yet to see a picture of other victims, he'd already heard enough about them to know the sight wasn't pretty. But today would be his first glimpse of it.

"So onto the discussion?" Sadie asked, sitting across the floor across from Adam. "Ed, come over here," she added, motioning to the bit of floor next to her. They were all sitting around the coffee table. Sure, Sadie had couches, but that didn't mean she ever actually used them.

"Yup, here it is." He flopped the file down onto the wood. "But this case is getting even more confusing than it was already."

"Why?" Ed said, pulling his knees to his chest. He did that a lot, Sadie noticed.

"Because after you, the killings went back down to South Jersey," he answered. "Just when I thought we had him, he retreats. I'm so pissed."

"It's probably because he couldn't finish you off. Thought he'd be easier to find," Sadie said. "Which probably would be true…goddamn, if only he was stupider."

"You still haven't told me exactly what he does to the victims."

"He cuts them up until they're almost unrecognizable." Adam pulled out information on the latest three, making sure not to pull out the pictures yet. It would be better to give him a heads up first. "Probably with butchering tools."

"Does he mutilate them?" Ed asked, voiced suddenly quiet. Sadie and Adam turn to him, surprised.

"How did you know that?" Adam said. "Do you remember him trying to do that to you?"

Ed shook his head and took and unused piece of paper and Sadie's pen, drawing the same transmutation circle he drew earlier. She picked it up. What did this have to do with the serial killer?

"I thought this was what you would be if you were alchemy. The one from Hohenheim's notes?" Adam motioned 'let me see'. She handed it over. He looked at it, but she knew that to him it just looked like a very strange sketch.

"Yeah, but it also reminds me of what the final result looks like, what it creates. It looked mutilated and inside out, what came out of it. A sick, twisted form of something, demented and inhuman. Isn't that what this serial does to his victims? They turn out looking like the failed result, but instead of attempting to create, he purposely destroys."

He looked away from her, towards the wall of blue, glass ornaments her mom loved so much, but it was like he didn't see them. In all his time here, this was the first time he truly seemed sad. Other times it was either smiles or verges of panic attacks, like earlier. On instinct, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She expected him to shake in away, but he didn't do anything, just stayed still. Adam looked back and forth between them, confusion on his face. She'd explain it fully, but only after Ed went to bed.

"Hey, kid, you never told me exactly what that circle was for," she said. She thought it was a strange statement when he said it. 'It's used to do the impossible, but it never succeeds', but she hadn't thought about what it meant.

"Human Transmutation," he answered, voice a deadpan. "It's not possible to raise the dead, like anyone should now, and anyone who tries is a fool." Sadie felt a chill go up her spine; that wasn't the type of thing a thirteen-year-old should say. It was another one of those moments, when he seemed he have seen everything in the world. "It disrupts the flow of the universe, and that's why the final result isn't human, just a mutilated form of what it should be. And that's what it looks like, right, when the serial killer is done with his victims and leaves them out the street?"

"Well, yes," Adam said, shifting uncomfortably. He and Sadie exchanged a look. No kid should say that, it was just wrong. "Do you remember anything else about this guy?"

"It's okay if you don't, but if you do we really need to know."

Ed shook his head. "I can't think up anything else. I don't know how I knew that. I just did." He hesitated for a moment. Sadie rubbed his arm. She'd been right, she realized; he wouldn't have worked well in an orphanage or foster care. If he had a moment like that, it would've freaked them out. "Sorry if I scared you. I guess I zoned out. Um, can we just ignore that I ever said that, at least for now?"

"Sure, kid," Adam answered and pulled out the rest of the papers, spreading them out across the small coffee table. Ed looked down, his attention now back onto what they were doing. Sadie didn't take her arm off his shoulder, trying to ignore her worry like he asked her to. She'd ask him about it later, she decided.

"The first victim's name was Reese Literman," he said. "A twenty-six-year-old single woman from Wrightstown. She'd been babysitting her sister's children until eleven. They parent's came home around ten and they stayed up talking. Then she drove home, and it seemed like she made it there because the car was parked in the driveway, but the door was slightly open and she it looks like she never made it inside her house. It's suspected by the police of that area that the serial killer was hiding in the hydrangea bushes. There was no other person around, but a truck was parked across from the house. It isn't too suspicious though, because the man who lives next door is an ice cream man and he had an alibi. Apparently he was at the bar that night until one o' clock. The bartender and several witnesses confirmed it. This was the night of June seventeenth."

"Did anyone ask the ice cream man if that truck was his?" Ed asked right before Sadie could say the same thing.

"No, and that's the problem. They automatically took for granted that it was his."

"Can you get any more idiotic?" Sadie asked rhetorically, shaking her head. "Did they even check the truck?"

"Yup," Adam answered. "They just found normal, everyday ice cream, which is why they didn't both to ask Andrew Fowler—the guy by the way. Forgot to say his name."

"Did they check everywhere, or just do a quick scan through?" Ed said, moving his hair from his face.

"Just a quick scan, kid. Why? Trust me, you can put a trick bottom in an ice cream truck, if that's what you're suggesting."

"That's not what I mean," he said. Sadie finally moved her arm from his shoulder. He'd been tense the whole time it was there, but now he'd relaxed. "Listen, this guy knows what he's doing. Putting a body into a refrigerated truck is a smart idea. Despite what books say, police don't suspect the sweet little ice cream truck right away, preferring to bypass it, because who would go the cliché, right? And he could put a tarp or something on the floor before he drags the woman in, so he doesn't need to worry about blood getting all over the place when he does his work. Then he can drag them out and leave them on the street and walk away, picking up the ice cream truck the next morning. If they'd done thorough search, the might have found specks of blood or something."

"That's what I was thinking." She tucked her hair behind her ear, but if fell right back into place. Next time she shouldn't go for a stylized cut. It was too much work. "I've been working in Murder for four years, and Adam even longer because he's just so old. I know how criminal minds work by now, and that would be the perfect plan, right?"

"I'm not old! I'm thirty-one, not over the hill yet." Adam shuffled through the papers again, looking for victim number two. "And most serial killers think along the same wave link, but that doesn't make them any easier to find. But at the next two crime scenes, there wasn't an ice cream truck there. He might be trying to switch it up though, and if that's true, that makes him even more dangerous because it means he knows the way we think. What you said though, kid, is the exact kind of thinking a serial killer has. You'd make a good detective when you're older."

Ed gave a little smile. "Thanks."

"So who's the second victim?" Sadie asked, flexing her feet back and forth, listening but still needing something to occupy herself with.

"Her name was Sally Smith—horrible name, I know," he added, seeing Sadie crinkle her nose.

"Parents should know not to go on name generators," she said, causing Adam to laugh.

"What's a name generator?" he asked.

"You can find them on the internet," Sadie answered. "They're generally used for fiction characters. Basically you click a button and it makes names for you, and they're really ever good. I used one in college, when I made up my memoir for English Comp."

"Oh."

"Anyway." Adam jumped back into the conversation. "Sally J. Smith is a thirty-two-year-old divorced woman of three who lived in New Egypt. She was out on a date that night. Lauren, her nine-year-old daughter and eldest of the siblings told the cops her mom met him off of some dating website she'd been using. They went to a park, but she never made it home. There was only one other person there at the time. His name was Luke Gelvin and he was walking his dog. He claimed to have seen a woman in a white dress and a man in a green shirt. They were only in his eyesight for about five minutes and he never heard a scream. All three of the kids said she'd been wearing a white dress when she left. This happened on the nineteenth. We can't get anymore details because after that there were no witnesses."

"The man was probably the killer," Sadie said. "Because his body wasn't found, right?"

"Yup. Oh, and she never mentioned the guy's name to the children. Any thoughts, kid?"

Ed shook his head.

"Okay, so girl number three. This is where it gets interesting. The girl's name was Norah Edwards—as mean as it is to say, I laughed at that. This was also in New Egypt. She was twenty-seven-year-old therapist with a live-in fiancée. She came home on the twentieth telling her fiancée Ian McKinley that she met a woman outside of an ice cream parlor, crying to herself outside of the shop. So Norah sat down next to her and spoke to her for a bit, and gave the woman her card and they set up an appointment for the next night, which was yesterday. Of course, she couldn't tell Ian the woman's name. Norah's secretary said that a woman did actually come in, but Janice, the secretary, left before the appointment was over. It was her cousin's birthday, so Norah let her leave early. That was also her last appointment of the night. And we know that they left, because a boy who was parking his bike on the other side of the street saw them exit. It looked as if they were setting up another time to meet. After that, the boy went inside the pizza place and we have no way of knowing what happened between the time he saw her and her time of death. What do you make of it?"

"Cross-dressing," Ed answered. "Either the guy you're looking for is actually a girl who's pretending to be a guy or he's a guy who dressed up as a girl for that one kill."

"I think it's the first one," Sadie said, once again attempting to move that annoying piece of hair from her eyes.

"Really? I would thought it was the second one. What do you think, kid?"

Ed shrugged, as Sadie thought he would. It was type of question he tried to stay indifferent to. She guessed that he didn't like to be wrong.

"Where are the pictures?" she asked, folding her knees underneath her so she could move closer to the table. Adam pulled six photos out with a flourish.

"If you don't think you can handle it, shut your eyes, kid." Ed didn't, but out the corner of her eyes, she saw him tense up, like he was bracing himself. Adam laid them on the table, before and after shots lined up. "Sally, Norah, and Reese."

"I'm going upstairs," Ed said, standing up quickly. He looked a little pale.

"I'll see you in the morning, kid."

"Same, since I'm staying."

" 'Night." He left, giving the table one last glance and grimaced just as he disappeared around the corner.

Sadie lit a cigarette the moment he was gone. She didn't like to smoke in front of him, but she'd been needing one since earlier that day. Adam stood up and opened a window. The next hour and a half was sent discussing the case, until they finally gave up. It was so frustrating she felt like tearing her hair out. Metaphorically of course, since she like having hair. Without hair, she'd be bald and that wouldn't be a very flattering look on her. Eventually, the conversation turned to lazy things, like Adam's new girlfriend and how Andy, a guy from work, really had to stop drifting around Kingsley like he was his shadow. And, naturally, the conversation turned to Ed.

"So what were the two of you talking about earlier?" Adam asked, drinking a glass of wine. Now that the kid was in bed, they could have a glass or two.

Sadie launched into an explanation about everything that happened before he came, barely pausing to breath. Sometimes she spoke so quickly that it was amazing anyone could understand. She wouldn't survived down South; every few seconds, they'd have to ask her to slow down.

"And that was what we were talking about," she finished, and yawned. It was getting late, but tomorrow was Sunday, so she could sleep in. "Weird, right? He talks about it like it's actually possible, like he's done it before."

"Something's off about him," Adam said, going on to his fourth glass of wine. They'd almost finished the bottle. She put the cork back in and returned it to the kitchen. Normally she wouldn't mind getting a little drunk, but Ed was here and she really didn't want to wake up with a hangover in front of him. "Hey, I was drinking that…"

"Well, now you aren't." She flopped down onto floor, her head in his lap. "And don't say that, it's just the way he is."

"No, Sadie, I mean I feel like there's something he isn't tell us." He ran his fingers through her hair. Yup, his girlfriend would definitely kill him. It amazed people when they found out she and Adam weren't dating. "You live with him, you've got to admit you've noticed it too."

"Of course I have," she answered. "But I think he'll tell us on his own. If we try too much, he'll close in on himself."

"Do you find it creepy, though, that he seemed to know just as much about the minds of serial killers as we do?"

"You haven't heard him talk, Addie. It's just the way he thinks."

"So he thinks like a serial killer?"

"No!" She sighed. "I mean he thinks from every angle. By now, from when he's been in the office with us, you should probably have noticed that I'm right; he doesn't do well with people. The strange thing, though, is that he probably can figure them out pretty quickly."

Adam yawned. "That's true, but I'm getting tired. I'm going to crash now. See you in the morning."

"I think I'm going to, too. Enjoy the lumpy guest room mattress."

" 'Night."

"You too."

Sadie headed upstairs.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, Ed acts really OOC towards the end, just as a warning, but he kind of has a rather bad (yet quiet) panic attack. You'll see the way. Oh, and by the way, be prepared for epic spam of alter characters, and a few (not many), are still coming as students. But there are still going to be a lot of OCs. Anyway, I meant to say last time that every place but the Murder office and Brookes school are 100% real places. Town, streets, hospital, mentioned diners and other towns and highways are all real. I didn't make them up. And it mentions a form of school scheduling here. I hope that Sadie explains it well enough for all those who don't have it to understand. =]

And the serial killer psychology thing is all true as are all the other ones.

I don't own FMA, just the plot, the overall idea, and all the OCs, which are the majority of the people. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Five

" 'Morning, kid," Sadie said as she walked downstairs, and immediately went to make coffee. "God, I hate Wednesdays."

"Why Wednesdays?" Ed asked, looking up from his notebook. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to figure out how to get home. Dead end after dead end. It was as bad as the Philosopher's Stone. No—worse. At least in Amestris he had the material to research in a constant game of guess and check. Here he had nothing but his own mind.

"Because they're in the middle of the week and completely useless." She yawned. "I don't understand how you manage to wake up at six everyday. I love sleep."

"I don't remember ever sleeping late, like you do," he answered, and went back to sketching the array again. There had to be some way for this to work…

"You were a deprived child then." Ed laughed and Sadie sent him a lazy smile. "I have to go into the office again today. You mind coming?"

He shook his head. "You know I don't. There's nothing else I can do, since I don't know Montclair enough yet. Can I have some coffee?"

"You will in time," she said, pouring the coffee into the mugs and handing one to him. Ever since he began working in the military, he'd been addicted to the stuff. Nothing woke him up better than an overdose of unneeded caffeine. "And until your chest heals enough, I _really _don't want you walking around. You get out of breath way to easily."

"I'm getting better," he answered, which was true. The air didn't suddenly leave his body when he hopped off the counter anymore. "At the last checkup, Anderson said my lungs were healing fine."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said, weaving her hand dismissively. "Even so, that doesn't mean you can go gallivanting around town yet. Wounds like that don't heal in the small course of three months."

"They'll be better by September, though, right?" he asked, moving his bangs from his face. "So I can actually do stuff is P.E. class?"

Sadie nodded. "That's what Anderson said. Speaking of which, I sent in your enrollment form. The supervisor of Brookes gave you a scholarship. I hadn't realized that." She yawned again, and stretched her arms over her hair. "So sleepy, oh so very sleepy."

"Did he really?" Ed asked. "I thought you could only get scholarships to college."

"You can also get them for some private schools," she answered. "But it isn't too common. They must've been really determined to get you before we tried out another school."

"Oh. Interesting."

"By the way, your schedule's coming tomorrow."

"But didn't he say it would come in August?" He crossed out an equation, frustrated. Why didn't any of them work? It should be simple, like opening up a really complicated door, but no, the goddamn Gate decided to make it impossible! No, bad train of thoughts. It wasn't impossible, just difficult. He'd dealt with difficult before and he could do it again. All it took was patience, which he would have to force himself to have. "Why would it come in the middle of July?"

"He wants you to come in after you've gotten your schedule, to meet your teachers. Now, come on, I'll explain the rest of it to you on the way to the office. Along with how the class system works. It's needlessly complicated, but now I understand why you're allowed to double up on science."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he hopped off the stool and followed after her, putting the empty mug in the sink. She hit the button that opened up the locks for the car (he still didn't know what it was called, just that it was attached to a key). They climbed in and Sadie put on the radio. By now, Ed was used to it, though the music itself he was having a bit of trouble understanding.

"Well, this school has something called block scheduling, which I find completely pointless," she answered as they pulled out onto the quiet street. She always left for a work a bit after rush hour, so she could miss all the traffic. "I'll give you the simplified version. You have four classes every semester, but five blocks since one is lunch and study hall. For the record, study hall is a place that gives you extra time to do your homework. Then, once the semester ends, you have all new classes. Get it?"

Ed nodded. "So it's a bit like college."

"Not exactly, but you'll understand it a bit more once you get your schedule. Like I said, it's pointless. Gives you less homework a night, and if you hate a teacher you only have to deal with them for half a school year, but even so, it's way too complicated for my taste. I preferred the period system." They turned onto the highway.

"What's the period system?" Sadie sighed, then quickly turned it into a groan of aggravation as a group of teenagers cut her off, causing her to have to slam on her brakes to slow down. Ed was thrown forward. He coughed.

"Sorry, kid. Damn teenagers." She moved her hair from her face. "At least when I was seventeen, I knew not to cut people off." They came to a traffic light, another thing Ed wasn't used to, but one of the simpler inventions of this world. "Anyway, you aren't going to have to worry about periods, so it doesn't really matter."

"Why does he want me to meet my teachers?" he asked. "They don't do that with the other students, right?"

Sadie shook her head. "It's so they know in advance you are. It's all child service's fault. They want a plan put in place." The light turned green.

"A plan?" He looked to her, confused. When he thought plans, he thought missions, but a plan in this sense would have a totally different meaning. So what did they need a plan for?

"Sorry, I forgot you wouldn't know the term." She took the turn that would lead to the office. "It means that you get certain exceptions, like extra trips down to the nurse and to sit out during gym without a note if you need to. Also—I know you're going to hate this, so remember I'm not the one who decided this—they're supposed to watch out for you a bit more than they do for other students."

She was right, he did hate it. Yes, Ed was used to having exceptions made for him, such as being able to live on his own despite being under aged. He was used to exceptions that allowed him to be a child (as much as he hated the word) in an adult world. Here he was also going to be given exceptions, but they made him feel like an adult in a child's world instead. Now that he was away from it, he realized just how much he'd been depending on the military. He even missed it a little. Wow, missing the military. For years he'd just been waiting for the day he could get out of it, when he had Al back. Now he was starting to think that he would stay. Teacher would kill him. He smiled a bit at the thought.

"What do they need to watch me for?" he asked as they pulled into the office's parking lot.

"The honest answer?" Ed nodded. "To make sure the other kids don't pick on you. Child service's said it was 'to make sure he adjusts into the school environment', but you and I both know it's just a fancy, vague way of putting the obvious. Hiya, Georgie." She smiled at a man Ed had begun to call 'Bagel Guy' in his mind. Every day, he had a plain bagel lathered in cream cheese in his hand.

"Hey, Sadie, kid. How's your day going so far?" he said as they entered the office building.

"We've been fine. Oh, damn, the elevator's out of order again…" She sighed. "They should really fix that. Guess it's the stairs today. C'mon, Ed."

"Wait, what? Oh, coming."

Murder was on the seventh floor, which meant seven steep flights of stairs, which meant that Ed felt like an old person. He scowled and kept his breathing quiet. Bagel Guy gave him a weird look. He resisted the urge to glare.

"Yo, what's up?" Adam said, sipping a soda.

"Ugh, how are you drinking that this early in the morning?" Sadie asked as they entered the room, throwing her car keys on the desk. Ed took a seat on the couch. It was placed (annoyingly enough) in the exact same place as it was in Mustang's.

"No coffee," he answered and clicked something on the computer. "Hey, Sadie, can you shut the door?"

"Why?" Ed looked over to the two of them.

"Because it's not like we're going to get any work done today, and they don't need to know that."

Sadie laughed and nudged the door shut with her foot. Adam and Sadie were two of lucky ones who got their own room. Most still had cubicles outside. Apparently a pair only got one when they were working on a big case. And this serial killer case was currently the largest they'd had.

"Wanna play cards, kid?" Sadie asked as she pulled a deck out of her pocket. Adam minimized a window on his computer and pushed some papers to the side.

"Sure," he answered, placing his notebook on the couch and pulling a chair up. "Who deals first?"

"I will," Sadie said as she began to shuffle. "We should play King's Corner. It's easier and I don't feel like thinking."

"Why aren't you working on the case?" Ed asked. Sadie passed out seven cards each and put the stack down on the table, placing the four cards around it. A King of Diamonds, a Jack of Hearts, a Two of Hearts, and a Nine of Spades. He looked down at his own cards and smiled. He'd be able to finish the round in one turn.

"We have no leads. Kingsley knows this too. I don't know why he's making us come in when we can't do _anything_. Kid, it's your start."

"This is one tricky little bastard. I want this guy gone. This is just sick. Whoa, kid, you finished that quickly?"

"Well, you gave me a good hand. My deal?" He gathered up the cards. King's Corner was a bit too easy for his liking, but it was good thing to do when you wanted to concentrate more on the conversation rather than the game. "Why don't you have work to other than the case?"

"Because all the other little cases were given away because Kingsley expected us to be so preoccupied with this one," Adam answered. Ed flipped the cards over around the stack. "The guy didn't seem this smart in the beginning so he thought it would be over quickly. Now it's five months later and we're only slightly closer than we were when we first started."

"But at least Kingsley isn't mad at us," Sadie said. "Pass, I've got nothing."

"So back to square one again." Adam sighed and put a King of Hearts in the corner and a Two of Spades over the Three of Diamonds. "Pass. I wish there was an easier way of doing this."

"Pass," Ed answered. He'd only been able to put down on card. "Why don't you mimic him?"

"What'd you mean? Pass. Ed, you're an evil, evil person. I can't believe I didn't get a single good card." She shifted, tucking her legs underneath herself.

"What would mimicking him have to do with anything?" Adam asked. "Pass—wait, I forgot to pick up. Damn, nothing good. Now pass. We already know what he does, so we have no need to teach it to ourselves."

"Serial killers are crazy, go by generalization," he answered. "So they don't think the way we do. Pass. He might seem sneaky now, but that doesn't mean he'll always think that sneaking around is the best thing to do. Killers like this one want to be acknowledged for the work they've done, so if you accuse someone else, within the next week he'll come out confessing, not wanting some else to get the claim to his work."

"Pass. But, kid, we can't go around killing people. Unless you mean…" She pulled back her hair.

"Pass. Ed, you shuffle too perfectly."

"Thanks? And you don't need to kill anyone. With the permission from the family, take the dead body of a woman and mutilate it the way he does. It's sick and crude, but it'll work. Make up victim information and lead the nation on. Say you made a breakthrough, then arrest someone else. This killer will come out with a confession, probably in a rush of words. While he's in that state, you'll probably be able to get him to tell you everything—how he does it, what made him start, why he only goes after women. Pass. You'll be able to get anything out of this guy."

Adam sighed and Sadie said, "That's the perfect idea, kid—pass—probably better than something I could think up, but I'm not sure we'll get permission to do it. That's why I haven't thought about it until you pointed it out."

"Why can't you use it?" Ed asked. "If it's logical, then wouldn't it be the thing to do?" He looked over to the cards. There was no way he could win this one.

"Because you aren't allowed to mutilate dead bodies, even for the sake of a case," Adam answered, placing his last card over the Four of Spades. "I won. I'll shuffle." He gathered all the cards. "The rule was probably made because, when looking at it from the point of few of the society, it's immoral. The dead should just die once, and not go through the torture, even if they can't feel it. That's why the grave stone says 'rest in peace'. Personally, I don't give a damn, but we have to go by what society thinks."

Sadie sighed. "It's a curse, I swear to god. Even if we can bend the lines a bit, being in the profession we're in, we still need to side with society. We need to love each other to work together. Adam, we should just play Gin. This is going by way too quickly."

He nodded. Ed said, "But does it really matter? Just because society believes something is right doesn't always mean that's what they need. Sometimes you need to sacrifice yourself and cause that love to become unrequited love. It doesn't matter if you play the bad guy, if you go by the sneaky, cowardly way, because they don't care by the end of the day. In the end, if the case is solved, they pretend they didn't say all that slander about you, didn't throw those stones at you. They still come crawling back."

"I like the way you think, kid," Adam said with a laugh, dealing out the cards. "But we don't live in that kind of world. We have to stay the brave face, the good guys, when the bad guy strikes. We can't turn into the bad guys too. That's why we catch them."

"Then how does stuff get done?"

"Sometimes I wonder that with myself. Adam, are you coming over tonight?"

"Course," he answered. "What should we get to eat?"

"I don't know. Hey, Ed, do you have any ideas?"

Ed shook his head, and wondered why they got take-out so often. He did when in the military a lot, but that was because he never had any time to cook.

"You know what, Sadie?" Adam said, writing the score down on the paper as the first round ended. He was in the lead, but it didn't mean it would stay that way. "I think we should go out for dinner instead of just ordering. You haven't been out yet, have you, kid?"

Ed looked up from his shuffling. "No, not yet. Where would we go anyway? I don't know any places in Montclair yet…I can't go out of the house too often. But I'll be able to soon." He smiled at the thought. If he ever saw Envy again, he'd make sure his dearest _brother _got what he deserved. Equivalent Exchange.

"Right, Ed." Sadie reached over and ruffled his hair. Ed laughed. The hair ruffle had become something of a comfort to him, which he never expected. "Around the end of August. How about that French café place on Church Street?"

"Sounds fine by me. Do you remember what a crepe is?" he asked, turning to Ed. He quickly shook his head. "Well, you'll be able to have it later, if you want to come."

"Yeah, of course."

He lay down three Aces and grinned. Adam and Sadie stared.

* * *

"Hi, Mr. Elric," the woman said, shaking a very awkward-looking Ed's hand. "I'm Vicky, from Child Services. And I believe you already know Mr. Travis here."

"Hello, Edward." He also took his hand. "Ms. Markov."

"Hey," he answered and stepped back, stiffening slightly. Sadie wrapped her arm around his shoulders and felt him jump.

"Hello," she said. "So, is Ed going to meet the teachers?"

"Yes," Mr. Travis answered. "Come on, they're in the teacher's lounge. Mr. Lout, your biology teacher, wanted coffee, and somehow it ended up a midday brunch." They followed him through the cafeteria and into a smaller room in the back, next to the kitchen.

"The mess hall's really big," Ed whispered so only Sadie could hear. She looked down, seeing him glance behind her. "How many people does this school have again?"

"About nine hundred," she whispered back. He paled.

"Well, this is Edward Elric," Mr. Travis said, motioning for him to get up a bit closer. Sadie let go of him. "He's only thirteen, but I'm sure you'll see that he's more than capable in your classes."

Ed shifted his wait. "Uh, hi." His eyes drifted over the teachers and Sadie watched him a pale a bit more.

"Well, this is your Spanish 1 teacher Sr. Pocter. He'll be teaching you next semester." He pointed to a tall man with blonde hair. Ed turned around and shot her a look say, _This guy is a Spanish teacher_? Sadie bit back a laugh.

"Hola, Sr. Elric." He nodded his head, glasses sliding down his tiny nose.

"This is the bio teacher I was telling you about, Mr. Lout."

" 'Ello," an Italian looking man said cheerfully.

"Mr. Fuery, your multimedia teacher for next semester." This man was a teacher? He looked like he only twenty.

"Hi, Edward." Ed's face was now dead white. What was going on? He didn't act this afraid at the office when he was meeting people; now he looked simply terrified, like he'd seen a ghost.

"Mrs. Yenning, you'll have her for world history." The woman just smiled broadly, wispy hair bouncing in her face.

"Ms. Hawkeye, your English 1 teacher next semester." He looked like he was shaking a little. What was going _on _here? She glanced back at Vicky, but the woman was texting. So much for Child Services. But Sadie was slightly relieved, because she knew Ed wouldn't want to be pulled out of this, though she was starting to think about doing it herself. The kid looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Are you okay?" Hawkeye asked. Ed just nodded, not saying anything.

"This is Mrs. Sims, your Geometry teacher."

"Hello, Edward."

"Your chemistry teacher, Mrs. Curtis. If you ever decide to take foods, you'll have her husband. You'll have her second semester."

"Hey, I heard you like chemistry, kid. What happened to get you so interesting?" She gave him a small smile.

"I-I read H-Hohenheim's notes as a k-kid," he answered, stutter obvious. Mr. Travis and a few other teachers down at him (with the exception of Ms. Yenning, who was even shorter than he was), also seeming a bit worried. Vicky's cell phone rang. She excused herself, but only Sadie seemed to have noticed.

"Really? You were a pretty lucky kid, then."

"I g-guess so."

"And finally, this is your gym and health teacher, Mr. Armstrong."

"Hello, Mr. Elric," he said, voice booming. "Tell me, do you like to run?" Ed just nodded. Now he looked like he was about to faint. "Good, because running trains to body to excellent physic and therefore we shall be doing it every day, first thing in class."

Mr. Travis glanced down at him. "So, you're going to need a small tour of the school, since you missed orientation in May. I have something else to attend to, so who would like to show him?"

"I will," Mrs. Curtis said right before anyone else could jump in. Armstrong looked more than willing. "Follow me, I'll show you around." For a moment, Ed was rooted to the spot. Sadie walked over and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He jumped.

"Oh, sorry," he said, and did something she didn't quite expect—he slipped his hand into hers. It was almost vibrating he was shaking so badly. She looked down surprised.

Ed stopped shaking about midway through the tour, slipping his hand away, but staying close anyway. He and Mrs. Curtis had started talking about chemistry by then and she'd managed to get him to list off almost the entire Periodic Table. He could apparently recite the entire table, including symbol, weight, volume, and other information. By the time the tour ended, he seemed almost fine and Sadie's brain hurt. The only thing that would give off the slightest hint that something was wrong was how tense he was.

"I'll see you in the summer, Ed," Mrs. Curtis said, waving as they left.

"Thank you for showing us around." Sadie smiled.

"Bye."

"So what do you think?" she asked as they got into the car and pulled out of the lot. "Are you still okay with going?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned his head against the glass. "Sorry about before."

"Abou—oh, that. It's fine, kid. I didn't mind." She took one look at the exit for the highway and turned onto the back road. There was nothing in life she hated more than traffic. "When you were with the teachers, though, you suddenly look scared. Why?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. Sadie didn't believe him, but she wouldn't press, just like she didn't press about the Human Transmutation. As much as the kid needed to talk to someone, she knew he wouldn't agree to it until he had a mental break down. "I just don't remember what school's like. I remember talking about science during math class and getting yelled at for talking, but that's about it. And I also think the teacher threw chalk at me, but that might just be my imagination."

"Nice one, kid. I had a teacher who threw chalk at me a few times. She was a math teacher too, caught me sleeping in class. The girl next to me nicknamed it the 'Furious Chalk Dance'." For a split second a look passed over Ed's face, but she couldn't tell what it was. "So your chem. teacher seems pretty nice, but your gym teacher seems a little…eccentric." They looked at each other and tried to kept a straight face. They failed. Sadie leaned down and put on the radio.

They stopped laughed after a while, and she saw Ed's smile drop. "I'm worried about gym, though," he said and his hand automatically went up to his chest. "We need to change in the locker room, right?"

"Yeah," she sighed, knowing _exactly _what he meant.

"Then how am I supposed to explain the scars? I'm covered in them, most of which are still recent."

"In all honesty, I don't know," she answered. "But high school students have a strange amount of knowledge in the field of others' personal lives, so I bet the story of what happened will come out pretty quickly. That might sound like a curse now, but it'll actually seem like a blessing. Most people won't say anything."

"Even so, what about this one?" He pointed to his chest. "It's in the back and the front, right over my heart." He sighed. "Hopefully they just won't ask."

"Look, Ed, you'll be fine. It'll be hard in the beginning, but I swear to you that it'll get better. High school was some of the best years of my life. And besides, you have another four weeks left, right?"

"I suppose you're right."

She reached over, and ruffled his hair, coaxing out the first real smile he'd had all day.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, I'm back with chapter six. The flower shop doesn't actually exist, but the streets do. I hope you like my students. And you will be seeing a very unexpected surprise thrown in there at the end.

I don't own FMA, just the plot, idea, and characters (except for the alters and Ed) of this story.

* * *

Chapter Six

"Hey, you'll be fine, Ed, okay?" Sadie said as they sat in the car in front of school. It was September 2nd, his first day of school in almost six years. Oh god. He fidgeted. He didn't want to do this. "They probably won't treat you any differently than they treat each other." She laughed. "And the girls will probably just think you're adorable."

Ed didn't even know he had enough blood in his body to blush as badly as he did just then. "H-hey!"

She shrugged, still grinning. "Just saying. Now go on, get to school." She ruffled his hair. "Have fun."

"I'll try," he answered miserably. She reached over and gave him a hug. "Bye. See you later."

He stepping out of the car and gave one last look back, waving. He was glad she had to drive him—a bus would've been too awkward. And besides, it felt like something a mom or an aunt would do, and living with Sadie really was like living with an aunt. He felt a stab of guilt—maybe he shouldn't be having fun when everyone else was still in Amestris. But he couldn't always be miserable…hopefully they'd understand.

A lot of students were waiting outside for the bell to ring, and he guessed that more were inside, but he couldn't understand why—it was too warm to be inside a building right now. Warm enough, even, that he'd finally agreed to wear shorts. Now he was glad he did, because more of the others were and he didn't want to stick out in a pair of jeans.

Someone bumped into his shoulder, causing him to fall down. Ow…

"Sorry," the person said, reaching out a hand to help him up. He grabbed it and stood, rubbing his arm. The day before, he'd hit against the bathroom door as it swung shut. It hadn't been one of his brighter moments. "Oh, you're a freshman."

"Uh, yeah," he answered, looking up. The guy was tall, about the height Envy liked to be. "It's okay; I shouldn't've just been standing here."

The boy shrugged and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. "It's cool. I'm Cole Larkin, a junior. Which school are you from?"

"I moved here in June," he answered. "So I don't even know what the other schools are."

Cole blinked and waved at a girl as came out of a car. She walked over. "So you don't know anyone?" Ed shook his head. "Man, that sucks. Hey, Lisa."

"Yo," she answered, then glanced down at Ed. "Who're you?"

"Edward Elric. Call me Ed," he said, feeling incredibly awkward. He was actually talking to someone below the age of twenty-one and above the age of four. What a weird feeling.

"Nice to meet you." She yawned. "God, I hate school."

"You and everyone else." Cole sighed. "Do you need some help finding your classes?"

"Um." Well, he'd forgotten already. This place was just so big. He could use some guide.

Lisa laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Oh, and Cole, Jean won't be here today. The plane was delayed ten hours so he's stuck in an airport in Australia."

"Sucks for him. Okay, show me your schedule," he answered. "It's the least I can do for knocking you over." Good, first person he met and the guy seemed nice. He took the schedule from his pocket. "Damn, kid, you're really smart aren't you?"

Ed shrugged. "I've been told that a few times." He bit his bottom lip.

"Hey, you have AP Chemistry with us, and lunch with the Kantorek brothers 3B," Lisa said, looking down at his schedule. "But god, study with Ott. I feel bad for you."

Ed felt very, very confused. "Wasn't so bad with Ott?"

"She's the devil incarnate, disguised the ruse of a smiley old lady who wears weird cardigans and season coordinated pins," Cole answered. "Oh, cool, you have gym with North fourth block."

"Who's North?" he asked, confusion growing by the minute.

"She's a friend of ours," Lisa answered. "Her first name's Ingrid, but she's gone by her last name since fourth grade."

If her first name was Ingrid, Ed could understand why. "Okay, Ed. So bio with Lout is room 211, in the sophomore hallway, which is the second floor, right above the freshman hallway. To get to the freshman hallway, by the way, go through this entrance"—he motioned towards the doors right next to them—"and turn right until you pass the cafeteria. Then turn right and you're in the hallway. For World History Honors, which is room 513, go up to the sophomore hallway and turn left into the junior hallway. And then from there just retrace your steps and you should be able to find the cafeteria. I'll tell Will in advance that you're in since he's in first block with me."

"O-okay," Ed answered, trying to take in all those directions at once. He ran his fingers through his hair. Now that he was told it again, it refreshed his memory a bit. "Thanks."

The bell rang and Lisa said, "Oh, and in advanced, Will's really tall with like straw colored hair and brown eyes. He's probably wearing some form of brown. His brother is a redhead. They'll spot you easily. Bye, kid."

And they left.

**(Block One, Biology Honors)**

"Okay, class, I put name tags on all of you desks. Go and find your seats and make it quick," Mr. Lout said, putting thermo on his desk. He wrote his name on the board. Ed glanced around and found his seat, the second in the middle row. "So, how many of you are freshman?" he asked as the last person sat down.

Ed raised his hand and looked around. There was only one other person in the class who raised her hair. She looked vaguely familiar, but she was hidden behind some kid with glasses so he couldn't get a good enough look.

"Okay, hands down," he said, picking up a stack of papers and placing five on the front row of each first desk. The person in the front passed them back. Ed grabbed one and did the same. He looked down at the piece of paper and realized it was a list of rules. "In this class you follow all school rules, such as show respect to each other and me, no iPods or cell phones." An iPod? What was what? "No inappropriate language, though I could care less as long as you don't say the F word, especially during labs. Also, there's lab safety, which is the usual: no touching unless told, have goggles on at all times, girls to wear their hair back, no shirts with baggy sleeves, use equipment as instructed and no other way, and don't chew gum while doing a lab. If you can't take dissection, you're allowed to sit out and I'll give you an alternative project.

"And there's one last thing: no touching my coffee." He motioned to the thermo on the desk. "Coffee is my Elixir of Life and doing anything to it will result in an instant after school detention for forty-five minutes. I cannot function without my wonderful coffee and I get very annoyed and easily angered. My Elixir of Life is a very sacred thing. Understand all the rules?"

The entire class was either trying not to laugh or actually laughing. Ed was one of the former. Sure, he was also addicted to coffee, but calling it the 'Elixir of Life' was a bit extreme.

"Good, now everyone stand up and get your textbook. This class is going to be very hard," he said as the class came back with very think textbooks. "But you're first homework assignment is going to be very simple. All you have to do is cover those books by Friday. But as long as you're willing to learn, I'll make this class fun. We'll have quizzes once a week and a unit test every two. You'll have homework daily, but depending on how you behave, I may or may not assign you homework on Friday. You can also check my HomeworkHero page, which will become you're best friend over the semester. Oh, and if you fall asleep in this class, I'm sending you down to the nurse for drug testing."

The rest of class went on discussing more rules and the schedule of learning. Ed seemed the only one not on the verge of lying his head down and shutting his eyes. Was he the only one who knew how to function without twelve hours of sleep or something? Even Mr. Lout looked sleepy. He liked the teacher so far and the class didn't seem hard at all. On the contrary, it seemed incredibly simple, but he supposed it was because he already knew all the material and more. Since he'd studied Human Transmutation, he knew everything about how cells worked and the functions of human body. And then he learned everything about the biological make up of most forms of animals while studying at Tucker's. Most of the books he'd read had been on chimeras and the subject of animals, especially combining them. Actually, he probably knew more than then the teacher since Tucker's library had been so extensive.

"I can't believe he's going to assign us homework starting tomorrow," some girl behind him whispered. "I still have to finish my summer history assignment."

"You should've just done it yesterday, Kira, you idiot," some guy whispered back.

"Fuck you. Ugh, my pen died." Ed felt a hand tap his shoulder. He turned around, finding himself face-to-face with green eyes. He leaned back a little. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her make-up made her looked older than she probably was. Every girl here wore make up, like that Lisa girl from earlier. Sadie didn't wear any (she said it took too long and the eyeliner made her eyes sting) and none of the girls he talked to back in Amestris did. "Hey, freshman, do you have an extra pen I could borrow for a moment? I need to write the homework down in my assignment pad." she asked.

"Um, sure," he answered, taking an extra one out of his pocket and handing it over. "Just give it back when you're done, okay?"

"Kay, thanks." He turned back around and leaned his face on his palm. His nickname went from 'kid' to 'freshman'. For some reason, 'freshman' sounded a bit more degrading.

With a tuck of longing, he realized he missed the Colonel calling him Fullmetal.

**(Block Two, World History Honors)**

Room 513 didn't even look like it had a wall. Almost every inch was covered in maps and posters and replicas of old documents. He liked it immediately.

Like the last teacher, Mrs. Yenning went straight to the rules. They were pretty simple, much Lout's (though she didn't tolerate swearing), but instead of lab safety, the additional rule was no inappropriate the things they were learning. Ed figured she meant nothing racist. And there was no talk about an Elixir of Life, either. She managed to get the class to laugh a few times, though, which was a good thing. Ed didn't know enough on this subject yet and it was better to be learning from a funny teacher than a boring one.

"Since we have enough time, we should start our first lesson, which is ancient history. Unfortunately we can't spend as much time on the subject as I would've liked, but we should make it fun while it lasts. Can someone please tell at least one ancient civilization?" About every hand in the class went up. Hesitantly, Ed put up his hand too. This would probably be his second worst subject of freshman year, because this was one of the subjects that didn't stay the same as Amestris. The history of Amestris was completely different than the history in this one.

"Okay, you in the back, can you tell me one along with your name?"

"It's Sarah Miller," the girl answered. "And the Roman Empire."

"Correct, and also the easiest to think up. Always the first answer. I need more. How about you?"

"Ancient Greece and I'm Luke Matthews."

"Always the second one. Is your sister Cassie?"

"Yeah," Luke answered.

"Tell her Mrs. Yenning says hello the next time you see her. How about you, Edward, in the back?"

Naturally, he was the only one she knew. A few students turned to look at him. "The Babylonians from the lower Mesopotamian area," he answered.

"That's one I don't hear too often. Can you tell me what they're the most famous for?"

"The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the second of the Seven Wonders of the World."

Yenning was beaming. "That's one I rarely ever hear. Anyone else?"

Egypt was mentioned, Sumerians, Incas, Mayas, Aryans, the Hebrews, the Islamic, the Persians, the Olmecs, and other ones that Ed didn't recognize. Yeah, this class was going to be hard. Really, really hard.

**(Third Block, Lunch)**

"Hey, you must be the Elric kid," someone said from behind him, causing him to jump. He turned around to see two guys who he figured to be the Kantorek brothers.

"Yeah," he answered awkwardly, but still glad he had someone to sit with. "You're Will, right?"

"Yup, and this is my older brother Jared," he said, pointing to a guy behind him who had struck up a conversation with some girl. "I'm a sophomore and he's a junior. C'mon, let's go get lunch. Did your mom turn in a check or are you paying cash?"

"A check, and I don't live with my parents," he answered, feeling weird about having to explain it this early. "It's a long story," he added.

He shrugged. "Wasn't going to ask. So what's your schedule?" Ed liked this guy already.

"Here, I'll—"

"So how's my darling little brother doing?" Jared said as he came up from behind them, throwing his arm Will's shoulder.

"Fine until you called me darling," he answered, shoving Jared off of him. They laughed. "And this is Ed Elric."

"Cool, nice to meet you. I'm Jared Kantorek."

"Hey." The line inched forward. "So, um, where do we sit?"

"Outside," Will answered. "And what's got you so happy? It's the first day of school, you should be miserable."

"Ah, but the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, we made a new friend—"

"I'm taking it you just found out Allison had a class with you," Will said, cutting him off.

"Well, that too." Jared grinned and Will rolled his eyes. "God, I missed them."

"Allison's his girlfriend," Will explained, seeing Ed's confusion. "She and her little sister North went to Hawaii over the summer. So can I see your schedule? Maybe we have fifth block together." Ed handed it over.

"I have fourth with North, Cole said." He shifted from one foot to the other as they reached line up in front of the actual food. Ed just grabbed a muffin and an ice tea—he couldn't stomach much else at the moment. Besides, chicken patty sounded a bit ominous, a suspicion confirmed when neither Will nor Jared grabbed one.

"She's cool, you'll like her. For the record, she's a bit taller than you, blonde, blue eyes, pale skin, and usually wearing a pair of shorts that are shorter than necessary. Oh, we have study together."

"Name?" the woman at the register said.

"Elric," he answered.

"Oh! You're the child prodigy I heard Rita and Kris discussing." Ed's cheeks burned. And he put two and two together: Riza and Kain. Of course their first names wouldn't be the same; for all he knew, they weren't actual names. "How are you? Enjoying your first day?"

"Um, yeah?" he answered, taking a step back.

"Well, the total's two fifty, hun."

"Thanks…" He backed out of there are quickly as he could.

"You're a child prodigy?" Jared asked as they took their seats in the courtyard. The metal picnic table bench was hot from the sun.

"I'm thirteen," he gave as an answered. They could interpret that however they wanted to.

"That's awesome," Will said. "Wish I'd been thirteen when I started high school. Then I would've have gone through the horrors known as eighth grade."

"What was so bad about eighth grade?" Ed asked curiously, unwrapping his muffin, discovering it was cranberry.

"Nothing, we just got this bitch of a vice principal who basically killed our school. Six and seventh year were fine—it was just eighth, which means this jackass right here got to miss it all." Jared just smiled wickedly. "So where're you from?"

"Montclair," he answered. "How about you guys?"

"Same," they both said.

"Guess who!" a voice from behind Ed said, causing him to jump. He looked to the side, where Jared was sitting.

"Lisa, now get your fucking hands off of me eyes," he answered. Lisa laughed and she and Cole took their seats around the table. "What're you two doing here?"

"Cutting study," Cole said, yawning into his elbow. "We couldn't stand another second of it."

"I thought you had Hawkeye," Will said, looking confused. "I mean, she's a murderer in class, but she has the best study ever."

"Jenna's in our class," Lisa answered. Will and Jared started to laugh.

"Who's Jenna?" Ed asked, eating some of his muffin.

"Just this really annoying girl," Cole answered. "She's a senior this year, so you won't have to worry about her. She's just the kind of person who talks and talks and talks. North talks a lot, but at least she has something _meaningful _to say. Jenna'll just go on about some trip to the mall with her imaginary boyfriend." He sighed. "So how's Brookes treating you so far, Ed?"

"It's okay," he answered, wiggling a bit on his seat. A bee was flying around Will's head. He waved it away. "It probably would've been worse if I'd gotten lost, so thanks for giving me directions."

"Eh, well you were the most lost and confused looking freshman I've ever seen. Couldn't help but give them to you." He moved his hair from his face. "Was the school you moved from really small or something?"

"Yeah, something like that," he answered. "I'm just glad I got into high school, though, rather than one of those middle schools near the house." He still had yet to use the word 'my' when referring to the place. "And they're even bigger than here."

"Got into high school?" Lisa reached over and stole part of Will's cookie.

"Hey, who said you could eat that?"

"No one, but that doesn't stop me."

"I skipped a grade," Ed said quickly before it could turn into an argument. Even if it was a mock argument, he still didn't want to deal with it.

"Really?" Cole asked. Ed nodded. "So you're thirteen and got into chemistry with Curtis of all people?" Once again, he nodded. "Damn, then it's a _really _good thing we picked you up when we did."

"Why?"

"Because high school works in systems," Jared explained. "It goes by grade. Upperclassmen rule out sophomores and freshman and then sophomores rule out freshman. It's more of a psychological thing than a written rule, like instinct or something."

"Then how do I work into this?"

"Since you're the youngest, even freshman will think they rule out you, get it?" Lisa said. Ed nodded, even if he didn't really. High schools sounded as confusing as the military and those were two things he'd never thought he'd think up as a comparison. "But you've already got connection in the upper grades your first day here, so you're safe basically."

"Oh…thanks," he said, still not quite understanding it. All he knew was that he was lucky, really, really lucky, but not for the reason they thought. He was luckier that he wasn't sitting out lunch alone.

The bell rang.

**(Fourth Block, Gym)**

After a very long, very loud, and truly obnoxious speech of rules and expectations told in the usual Armstrong fashion, all twenty-two kids were told to go and change. There were four different P.E classes using gym, which would make the boy's locker room really, really crowded. Ed wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

"Hey, I'm North," a blonde hair girl said as she popped up in front of him. He jumped. "You're Ed, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, grabbing his gym clothes. "Cole's friend, right?"

" 'Course," she said, picking up her own duffle bag and adjusting the strap of her shirt; it was falling off. "So what'd'ya think of Armstrong so far?"

"He's loud," Ed said bluntly as they went off in the direction of the locker rooms. "What year are you in?"

"I'm a sophomore, my sister's a junior. I met Cole and the guys through her back when I was in eighth grade. See you in a bit." They split up, him going to the right, her to the left.

The locker room was smaller than he expected, which meant it felt like it was filled with even more people than it did all ready. He looked around and finally found a locker. Next to him were two other guys and by his guess one was a freshman and the other was a junior or a senior. All around him, friends were laughing and he just slipped under the radar. So a small locker room was a good thing. Since it was so loud, no one had time to look over at him. Ed hated changing in front of people, hard-to-explain scars or not.

He changed from his shorts to his gym ones, throwing his normal pair into the locker. Nervously, he took one last look around before pulling off his shirt. No one commented. He looked down at the scar on his chest and realized it still looked as bad as it did in the hospital, like it never healed over. But it was such a big wound that it would probably take years for the scar to even fade to pick, let alone to white or skin color. All around the rest of his body were other scars, too, and he could recognize where he got almost all of them: the gash in his side from #48, the scar on his shoulder from when the real Barry the Chopper stuck in the cleaver, the burn marks he'd gotten from Mustang. Now that he saw it here, in a high school gym locker room surrounded by other teenagers, he realized how strange it was that he'd gotten all these scars before hitting the age of eighteen.

"Whoa, man, where'd you'd _that_," a voice said from behind him. Inwardly, he groaned. His luck had run out. He should've put on the shirt right away instead of checking how bad it was. Stupid him.

"Um, it's a long story?" Ed answered as he turned around, pulling the shirt on. The locker room's noise died down right away. There was a rather uncomfortable silence and he felt like a deer in headlights, caught on his first day. Well, it would've happened some time anyway; it was better to just get it over with.

"But it's like, on both sides," another guy said.

"I know." He shut his locker door, wishing they'd all just go away in a puff of smoke or at least forget they ever saw this. Not that either would happen, but a guy was allowed to have hopes and dreams, even if they were dashed away against a jetty of rocks. "Like I said, it's a long story. It would take days to explain."

"Dude, that's weird. What grade are you in?" yet another one asked. "Haven't seen you around here."

"Freshman," he answered, looking down at himself. He had absolutely no excuse to just run out of here without making it even more suspicious. "I just moved here. I live in Montclair. It looks weird, I get it. Didn't your parents your parents ever tell you it's rude to stare?" Immediately, more of the guys averted their gazes. Still no one said anything and Ed was starting to get annoyed, miraculously falling back into the same tone of voice he used in the military, the kind he used to scare away any curious townsfolk before they could make any more complaints about a 'Dog of the Military' being sent over. "Okay, I'll give you the shortened version: Something happened, I survived, and I got some scars. It's not as interesting as it looks. End of story." And with that, he left.

**(Fifth Block, Geometry)**

It turned out that this North girl was also in his fifth block, but he wasn't complaining. It was nice to talk to someone and it took his mind off of what happened in the beginning of gym. Naturally, the story had reached her, but she didn't ask. She wasn't really all that nosy, just hyper. A bit _too_ hyper, butstill okay. Most of the people he'd met had been pretty okay. He was just glad it was Cole who bumped into him and not someone else.

"Oh joy, we have Sims," she mumbled as they entered the class room. The redheaded woman he'd met at the end of July of standing in front of the chalk board, writing something.

"What's wrong with her?" Ed asked as they took seats next to each other in the back row. Ed noticed no one took the front.

"I had her from Algebra 1 last year," North answered. "I was actually supposed to be in geometry last year, but my dad was the only Honors teacher at the time and they can't put a family member in the same class. Anyway, getting off subject. Basically she's really boring. Like, boring enough to put you to sleep. It would a good thing I knew algebra already or I would've been screwed. Oh, but she's oblivious enough that you can text. She doesn't notice anything. I texted Ike all last year. I sat in the front row."

"Who's Ike?" he asked, looking up at the teacher. She'd turned around by now, watching as everyone entered. The class was trickling in slowly.

"My boyfriend," she answered. "We've been dating since last year. He's a junior and completely awesome. You'll probably end up meeting him, since he's in 3A lunch most days. He's not here today because he's still in Maine visiting family. Tomorrow I'll see him for the first time since July fifth, since I was visiting my mom and step-dad in Hawaii."

"Quiet," Sims said from the front of the class. For a moment everyone shut up, but the moment she started going over the rules, the murmur of whispered conversation started up again. North was right.

"God, I hate her," North said, adjusted the straps of her shirt. "I bet you anything that she'll end up commenting on my outfit by the end of the day. The only thing she notices is when someone breaks the dress code. Everyone does, not just me." She rolled her eyes. During gym, he'd realized she was definition of a broken dress code; the shortest shorts he'd ever seen and a halter top. She looked like she was more dressed for the beach rather than school.

Ed just shrugged. "At least we only have her for half a year."

"Yeah, for eighty minutes."

"Don't remind me."

"I'm going to end up shooting myself before the semester's even up. Or maybe I should shoot her. Which one do you think is best?

"Depends. Would you mind going to jail?"

"No, but I bet I'd make a good outlaw. I'm cute enough that the cops will conveniently look over me."

"Then I'd say her. No need to ruin something with such dashing looks." They grinned at each other and North laughed quietly.

"I really like you," North said as she stopped laughing. "After all, you used the word 'dashing'."

"You aren't so bad yourself," he answered. "I thought this school was going to suck, but isn't too bad."

"You get used to it," she said. "And you got pretty lucky, making friends so quickly. And all because Cole bumped into you. He's such a sweetie."

"So I've heard."

* * *

Sadie waited in the parking lot for Ed, praying to whatever god there was for the kid to have had a good day. The last thing she needed was for him to be picked on. The poor kid was going through enough already without the added on trouble of classmates. And he was the perfect candidate to be chosen as the underdog. After all, he was small, looked about fifty pounds underweight, had a weird accent, was brilliant beyond comparison, and the youngest in the school. That wasn't a very good mixture.

"Hi, Sadie," he said as he opened the car door and slid inside. Her eyes searched his face, looking for anything that could suggest something was wrong. The only problem was that he was so hard to read sometimes.

"Hey, kid." She ruffled his hair and felt a bit relieved when he smiled. "Was it as bad as you thought?"

"It was weird," he answered. Weird? What the hell did that mean? "I met a few people, though."

"Were they okay?" she asked, looking at him out the corner of her eye, while still trying to concentrate the road.

"Yeah," he said. "This guy named Cole bumped into me this morning and somehow that resulted into me meeting his friends. He and his friend Lisa are juniors. They'll be in my chemistry class next semester."

"That's cool. So you like them?"

"I think…I just met them, though. The day was still really weird. I'm not good with people my own age." He hugged his textbooks to his chest and pulled up his knees. "Hey, Sadie? Why are adults easier to understand than kids?"

She sighed and turned onto Walnut Street. "Because you think like one and if you start talking, there's more of a chance of an adult understanding you than there is of a kid. Most students' minds are centered on their friends and school and what's in style or something like that. You think more like an adult or a scientist. You think in puzzles and answers. If you were to compare a mind to styles of writing, yours would be academic, logical, complicated, but straight to the point. They think more like a fiction novel, with description and roundabout ways of wording things. You don't think like anyone I've ever met before. You could probably be a genius among geniuses, so when you're in a school environment, you're worlds apart. I know you probably don't want to hear that, but it's the sad truth. It's like you're on a different plane of thinking that others could only dream of going."

"No, I get it," he said. "It's just that I hear them talking and it feels like they're speaking a different language. I have to watch what I say around them, so I don't accidently start talking in math terms. I don't need to around you or Adam."

"It'll get easier," she answered as they turned onto High Mountain Ave. Thank god, finally on her street. "It was just the first day. But, hey, at least you made a few friends. What're their names?" They pulled into the driveway and got out.

"Um, well Cole, Lisa, Will, Jared, and North—it's her last name," he added, see her expression. "The youngest two are sophomores." He put the textbooks on the kitchen table. "There're apparently more of them, but I'm not sure if I want to meet anymore people…"

"Well, you don't need to become good friends with all of them. It'll be fine if you need to hang back a little bit from people. Hey, I have to go buy flowers for Adam's date, do you wanna come with me?"

"Sure?" he answered, looking slightly confused. "Why do you need to buy flowers for someone else's date?"

"Adam's color blind, so he can't tell what looks good or whatever. I've had to buy flowers for him whenever he needs them. But c'mon, we'll walk. You'll be able to see more of Montclair."

"Okay."

The walk took five minutes, most of it filled with Ed's questions. He always had questions, but she didn't mind. It was good for him to curious or they'd never find anything to talk about. And it was strange, she found, that he'd been living here now for four months and he still needed to be taught things again. It really showed how many things there were in the world that she just took for granted, like expressions for example. There was just so much he didn't know still. It was actually somewhat frightening.

"This is Archer's Flowers," she said as they reached it. "It's been here for years. The family who owned it and they keep passing it from owner to kid. I think the son and daughter work on Wednesdays, but I always forget. I think the younger girl's a junior and the guy's a senior. They go to a different school though."

"Oh," he answered and they entered. Immediately they were hit by the overpowering smell of flowers. She felt bad for the son; it must suck to meet a girl while smelling like someone dunked him into a vat of perfume.

"Hi, what can I do for you today?" the man at the counter asked. It was the son. The daughter was helping another customer. To her side, she felt Ed tense.

"Um, a small bouquet of twenty dollars," she answered.

"Any specific flower?"

"Maybe a yellow lily or two."

"Okay. Hey, Kate!" he said, calling over the daughter as she finished with the other couple.

"What, Frank?" she asked as she came up next to him. "Hi!"

"Hi," Sadie said.

"Can you get a small bouquet enough for twenty dollars? Plus in a yellow lily or two."

"Sure, but why can't _you _do it?"

"I'm going out tonight."

"Ooo, on a date?"

"No! We're just friends."

"It's the Kimblee girl isn't it? Just admit it, you two aren't just friends."

Frank turned pink. "Sarah Jane and I are just friends, Kate. There's absolutely nothing going on between us."

"Oh yeah, so is that why I saw you and Sarah making out in the back of the shop last week?"

"You saw that!"

"I'm all knowing, Frank. You can't hide anything from me." She grinned.

"Wha-wait-huh? Ugh, just got and get those flowers." Kate laughed and skipped off. Sadie and Ed looked at each other. Well, that was…interesting.

"Sorry about that," Frank said, fake smile on face, cheeks still flushed pink in embarrassment. "My little sister can't keep her mouth shut."

"It's okay…" Sadie answered awkwardly, trying not to look at Ed and knowing that he was doing the same. If they made eye contact they would end up laughing. Kate came back, holding the bouquet in her hands.

"The total's nineteen-ninety-nine," Frank said. "Would you like that wrapped? It's free."

"In a yellow ribbon please." She pulled her money out of her pocket and handed it over. "Keep the penny—oh, thanks." She took the flowers out of Kate's hands.

"You're welcome," she answered. "Now, Frank, about Kimblee. You really should learn to make out in more secretive places…"

Ed and Sadie left before they could hear anything else.

* * *

I bet that blew your brain right there. Review. =]


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